Until the End of the World
by LMRaven
Summary: Love is tested, choices are reconsidered and the future is uncertain. Bella and her loved ones must come to terms with who she is and what she has become as the threat of the biggest supernatural war in history bears down on them. Sequel to Twilight of My Redemption.
1. Chapter 1

**St Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, LA**

A contrasting mix of angelic statues, gargoyles and religious idols adorned row after row of the above ground tombs. It truly was a "city of the dead" with stone crypts that looked like rows of houses complete with their own surrounding fences. Many of the tombs now cracked and dilapidated after years of flooding and erosion. In the daylight, Elijah might have appreciated the odd mix of crypt architecture more but under the shadow of night, it just seemed incredibly lonely.

"Ahh, here we are." Klaus had stopped in front of a small Greek Revival structure. His hands resting on his hips as he stared at the old tomb.

How he managed to still sound smug, Elijah didn't know. Stoically, he read the markings on the grave, his lip turning upward in mild amusement.

"Marie Laveau? That's a little cliché even for you, don't you think?"

"Really?" Klaus cocked an eyebrow. "Because I always thought it was morbidly ironic…storing them in the tomb of the famous Voodoo queen…now _that_ makes a statement." He boasted.

Elijah grimaced. "And what of Ms. Laveau? Does she still reside here as well?" He made a half hearted gesture towards the tomb suppressing the urge to cringe at the thought of disturbing the Creole Voodoo Priestess' eternal rest.

Klaus chuckled. "In a manner of speaking." He leaned back on his heels and cast his brother a sideways glance. "So, since you have no need of me…I'll just be on my way."

"Not so fast. " Elijah's hand snaked out immediately grasping Klaus by the wrist. "I'm not quite done with you yet."

"I showed you where they are." Klaus stated indignantly.

"You say it like you had a choice in the matter. Now, open it." Elijah ordered.

"You have no _idea_ what you will be unleashing" Klaus seethed. "I don't want to be anywhere near here when you do." He wanted to be far, far away, especially when Elijah started removing daggers. He had plans and being his brothers and sisters first meal after centuries was not one of them.

"I know you, Klaus…too well, not to believe you may have trapped it in some way. So forgive me if I don't trust you. Now open it…then we will discuss your release."

"So after all this, you still intend to let me go?" Klaus asked, his tone filled with wry amusement. "One would beg the question, why? You cannot still feel brotherly towards me, not after all I've done to try to destroy you."

Elijah contemplated briefly the answer before turning a blazing eye at the one he had once called brother. "You are right. I don't feel anything towards you that even remotely resembles anything familial." He shrugged dispassionately. "You want to know why I won't kill you and the answer should be obvious. For your entire existence you were filled with nothing but contempt for a species you always considered inferior in every way. Now you are one of them...again. You will suffer all those human frailties…the illnesses…the limitations…the emotions you considered weak and so gleefully scorned. Consider it poetic justice and a fitting punishment. You are a _human_, Klaus and you can _never_ be changed back."

Elijah took in Klaus's groused expression and lifted one brow as if to say "you asked".

Klaus in the meantime was digesting, assessing and deliberating. If what Elijah implied was true…he was well and truly fucked. But Klaus was not one to give up. If there was a way, he would find it. He would not be a prisoner to humanity. He would not allow it. Then he would take great delight in punishing all those responsible for his failure…and he knew where he would start.

"Perhaps I'd rather die." Klaus retorted.

Elijah gave a gallic shrug. "That is of course entirely up to you. Now, I do believe you are stalling."

His patience had reached his limit and Klaus knew that he had to do what Elijah asked. He had no desire to be compelled again. It was a disturbing feeling to be aware that you were doing things and saying things that were beyond your control…a puppet whose strings were being manipulated by the puppeteer.

"Let's get this over with then, shall we?" Klaus kneeled by the tomb and using a nearby sharp rock, he started digging around the stone. "A little assistance would be nice." He muttered under his breath, frowning at the dirt seeping under his nails.

"Fine." Elijah threw up his hands in exasperation and crouched down, swiftly removing large chunks of earth.

"That should do it." Klaus felt around on the side of the tomb they just unearthed until he found it. He looked up at Elijah. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Elijah growled low and menacing as an answer.

"Alrighty then. Here we go." His fingers reached in a pulled a hidden lever causing the bottom part of the vault to groan agonizingly before sliding upwards into itself to reveal a dark uneven gray stone staircase.

"An underground tunnel?" Elijah inquired as he peered through the opening.

"Catacombs actually." Klaus said conversationally. "Some do still exist as this one. Most, however, have long since flooded. " He added as he inhaled the damp musty air that wafted up through the dark.

"After you." Elijah ordered with a wave of his hand.

"In case you haven't noticed it's dark as pitch and my eyes aren't what they used to be."

Elijah emitted a frustrated groan and fished in his pocket for his phone. "Here." He shoved it onto Klaus' outstretched hand. "Use my cell."

Klaus thrust his hand in the opening, swiping at the thick blanket of cobwebs before taking his first step down. "God, it smells ripe, doesn't it?" His voice echoed up to Elijah after his head disappeared into the darkness.

He followed him down, indeed noticing the odor that made his lips curl in disgust. Wet rot and decay. He knew it well. Under the sound of Klaus' footfalls he heard another sound…squeaking and scattering. Rats and lots of them...fat bloated water rats.

When Elijah hit bottom, Klaus had already lit a torch and put it back into the holder on the wall. It cast the cavernous room in an eerie glow. His eyes immediately fell on the closed caskets strewn about in no particular order. He recognized the family crest on each one. four, there should have been five.

"Father…_your_ father, I should say…well he didn't quite make the cut." Klaus grinned evilly.

Elijah felt an inexplicable rage encompass him but he tempered it down. Klaus knew he had gotten to him…hit a nerve as he intended. Oh, dear brother covered it quickly enough but he did see the murderous glint in his eye albeit only briefly.

"You may do the honors and open them." Elijah ordered.

Klaus gulped, his maniacal glee stamped out and now it was Elijah's turn to grin.

"Finn." Klaus began as he quickly opened the coffins, calling out each name one by one. "Rolf…Erik…I found them, united them and watched them turn against me…ungrateful whelps." He sneered.

Forcing casualness, Klaus stroked the last coffin in a caress. "Rebekah." He said looking at Elijah as he pried it open and looked at the gray, cracked body within, dressed elegantly like an elite flapper girl. "She stayed with me for many years." He said lovingly before he scowled. "Until her loyalties became blurred. Stupid, impetuous girl." He hissed at the corpse before looking at his brother once more. "That's it then. Resurrect at your own risk."

Elijah didn't stop his as Klaus began his ascent up the steps nor did he try to stop him when he heard him close the stone slab opening of the tomb. He just stared quietly around the room at the bodies of his dead siblings.

* * *

><p>The quaint but campy pink tea cup signage that hung over the entrance of the small French Quarter shop had always made Klaus chuckle. Tourists flocked at both here ,Mystic Tea Leaves and Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo looking novelty "gris-gris" and other items of similar nature. It was all fake, of course. The Voodoo priestesses he knew would never put real power in the hands of a frivolous human visitor. The items that were sold to the public here were made of common household herbs found in any kitchen or garden. Even high priestesses had bills to pay.<p>

But having walked through this door many times, he was no tourist. The bell over the door jingled annoyingly as he opened it. The smells of incense burning surrounded him as he entered the atmospheric dimly lit shop. A few female patrons eyed him speculatively and he raised his brow at them and made a motion as if tipping his hat, though he wasn't wearing one. "Ladies." He demurred with a slight bow of his head.

They giggled and continued to talk amongst themselves about love potions or some equally useless rot.

"I'll be right with you." Klaus heard Nathalie's smooth honey voice call out from the back. As he perused the shelves with in, his peripheral vision caught sight of her walking towards the girls with small, multicolored pouches in her hands. "I mixed these special just for you." She began handing out the bags to the naïve if not overly enthusiastic bunch before she actually laid eyes on him.

Eyes widening in brief alarm, she dispensed with the items in her hands with more speed. "No charge." She added briskly. "Now you must leave. I am closing."

"But…"One of the girls said.

"Please." Nathalie urged as she ushered them past him and outside. Locking the door behind him and putting the closed sign on the window, she turned to him, smoothing her skirts before looking him right in the eye. "Klaus."

"Nathalie." He let her eyes roam over her supine form, taking in the still youthful caramel colored face. "As beautiful as ever." He glided forward and kissed the back of her hand.

She pulled it back quickly and tucked it behind her back. "To what do I owe this displeasure?" She scowled at him.

"I need your assistance." He said smoothly.

"Ha! After what you did to my last employee, Chere'?" She said as she shouldered past him. "Do you know how hard it is to find help that can be discreet?"

"In my defense she was very delicious, if I recall. Rather hard to resist blood like that." He smacked his lips.

It wasn't until then that she really saw him. Nathalie's brows drew together in confusion and tapped her finger against her chin. "There is something different about you, cher"

"Can you not tell?" He inquired in amusement and turned in a circle with his arms held out from his sides until he faced her again. "I'm _human_." He said with an undisguised sneer.

Nathalie couldn't help it. She laughed…raucously until she saw the expression on his face. Then she stopped, her face turning disbelieving. Unable to help herself, she came before him and placed her hand against his heart and then to his carotid artery, feeling a gentle thrumming beneath her fingers. "You're _serious_."

"Quite." He said drily.

"It's impossible."

"As you can see, it's really not."

She nodded. "Let's go above stairs and you can explain."

This is where the _real_ magic was, Klaus thought as they entered her home above the store. Unlike her shop downstairs where every surface inch was covered with everything mystical and magical, her apartment was plain and comfortable and as some would say, modern. He knew she hid the "real" stuff here, safely locked and sealed with hexes that were nearly impenetrable. He knew. He had tried once with very painful results.

Nathalie poured them both a glass of port and gestured for him to sit down. She chose to sit opposite him on her favorite chair. Even as a human, she didn't quite trust him. Kicking off her heels, she tucked her bare feet under her legs.

"So tell me, how did one of the most powerful vampires of my acquaintance finally manage to be rendered impotent?" She asked in a droll manner, her crimson painted lips tilted in amusement.

Klaus' lips curled in distaste at her vocabulary choice but knowing he had to rely on her help, he kept silent. He gave her a general overview of what happened. His voice was bitterly scathing as he mentioned the prophecy, the doppelganger and the girl whose blood cursed him with humanity. The more he spoke about it the angrier he became but Nathalie had no fear.

"The prophecy was true then?" Nathalie asked. "I admit, I thought it might be fiction… superstition…you pick."

"You knew about it?"

"Only the barest of details, I assure you." She dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. "What I don't know is what you want from _me_."

"Isn't it obvious? I want to be changed back. I don't want to be a cursed human."

Nathalie laughed bitterly. "A cursed human? You really do have things ass backward, don't you? Do you know how many nocturnes I know that would give anything and everything they have to be human again? To walk in sunlight, to not be a slave to blood, to not have to watch as the humans they come to love grow old and die while they stay stagnant and destined to be alone?"

"Blah, blah, blah" He mumbled. "Enough with the lecture. Can you do it?"

Nathalie placed her glass on the glass table beside her before leaning closer to Klaus, peering at him through the narrowed slits of her eyes. "No." She said before she sat back again. "What little I do know of the prophecy is that it cannot be reversed…_ever._"

"Aaagghh!" Klaus slammed his hand down on the black leather couch in frustration. "There must be something."

""I'm sorry." She said but the apology was insincere. "I can't help you."

"Can't or won't"

"Perhaps a bit of both."

In a fit of rage, Klaus got up and paced the room wanting nothing more than to strangle the dark haired woman. She was his last hope…his _only_ hope. He needed leverage. Swiftly turning to face her once more, sneering at her smug countenance.

"My brother is in New Orleans." He told her.

"So." She shrugged. "Elijah has always been more honorable than you."

"That may be so. But do you know what he is doing at this moment?"

"No but I suppose you're going to tell me."

"He's going to revive the family." Klaus nodded at the horrified expression on her face; glad to finally have gotten through to her. "Oh yes. Could you imagine…four more like me…thoroughly starved…angry…bitter…right here in New Orleans? Do I have your attention now, my pet?"

Nathalie thought for a moment. "There may be a way to cheat it…a loop hole as it were."

"Ahh, you see. " He sighed in relief.

"But." She added, her tone issuing a warning. "As with all things magic, Cherie, it will exact a price."

"I'll pay anything."

Nathalie stood up and held her hand out to him. "Come then. "

She led him to an intricate wood carved door, one that didn't fit with the rest of her décor. With a few whispered words the door opened on it's own revealing a small room, more of an alcove really. Shelves were lined with herbs and various mystical ornaments hung from the ceiling.

Diligently, Nathalie took various herbs from their dispensers and crushed them together with her mortar and pestle before placing it into a tea infuser. She boiled distilled water on the small hotplate and poured it into a ceramic cup and placed the tea infuser inside letting it steep.

Klaus raised an elegant brow. "Tea leaves? _Really?_" He asked dubiously.

"Not just any tea leaves." When she was satisfied with the mixture, she handed him the cup. "Now drink and think of your greatest desire."

For Klaus, that was easy. His greatest desire had been forefront on his mind since he woke up in that dilapidated shack in Romania. His face soured as he smelled the harsh liquid and drank, hoping she hadn't just poisoned him.

"God, that tasted abominable." He complained as he handed her back the cup and wiped the corners of his lips.

Her expression was amused as she sat down, rotating the cup, peering into it, waiting for the vision to overtake her.

"You have revenge in your heart." She shot him an accusing look over the rim of the cup. "It is a poison that runs through your veins stronger than any blood. Sating this lust for vengeance is all you desire."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Nathalie scowled at him and looked at the placement of the leaves once more. "I see a woman…the color of alabaster and fire. She is like how you were…but not exactly. To be close to what you once were, you'd have to be like _her._" Nathalie's brows furrowed in confusion. "She is learning, gaining experience…plotting her ultimate revenge. Like you."

Sounds like the woman of my dreams, he thought silently waiting for the priestess to continue.

"She will need someone to help her achieve her goal." She looked up at Klaus. "That someone will be you."

Klaus leaned forward in his seat, rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation. "Where is she? Where can I find her?"

"I see long stretches of dirt plains and cactus…steers and tumbleweeds." She looked up at him and frowned. "Texas. She is in Texas."

"Why the long face, lovey?" Klaus asked her. "You've done beautifully."

Nathalie placed a warning hand on his arm. "I know of the group there. They are dangerous women. They may not even let you live after they first scent you. If you do, you must not cross them. Have a care, Klaus. This is a perilous game you play"

"How sweet." He gave her a leering grin. "You're worried about me." He went to cup her cheek but she grabbed his wrist before he could make contact.

"Don't" she hissed the warning before standing up regally. "I worry for the hell you will be helping to unleash. Now let's discuss payment."


	2. Small Blessings

Forks, WA - June.

"I'm going to be sick." Bella said as she stared out the window of Edward's Volvo at the front door of her house and then at the police cruiser sitting innocently in the driveway. "Like _really, really_ sick."

"No, you're not." Edward smiled and caressed her cheek.

"Yes, I am." She pouted delicately, crossing her arms in front of her. She knew she was being childish but facing Charlie even if he had been more accepting of Edward lately, scared the crap out of her.

"Bella, we've talked about this." _Repeatedly_, he added in his head but didn't say it out loud. "You even said yourself that you hated wearing your engagement ring around your neck…that you wanted to put it on your finger where it belongs. In order to do that, we have to tell Charlie."

Bella sighed as she fiddled with the beautiful engagement ring she had just put back on her finger only moments before. "You're right." She conceded. "I know you're right. It's just that we haven't even graduated yet and Alice is chomping at the bit that the invitations haven't gone out yet. I mean, who knew you're supposed to send them three to four months in advance? And there's still so much left to do…caterers, fittings, flowers… I haven't even…"

Edward placed his lips on hers, coaxing gently until she gave herself up to the kiss. She moaned into his mouth, completely forgetting her anxiety as her fingers wound themselves in the tufts of his hair. Knowing he couldn't get into a full on make out session in front of her house especially because of where they often led, he pulled back only to gently rest his head against hers, breathing heavily.

"That wasn't fair." She pouted looking into his lust glazed eyes, feeling the heat of her own arousal.

"It worked though." He chuckled as he caressed her jawline loving her response to his touch. He would never be able to get enough of her.

"That's because when you kiss me you _know_ I can't think of anything else." She frowned. "And that was the point" She said acerbically when the realization of his trickery dawned on her. "So not fair, Cullen"

He grinned at her. Tucking his finger under her chin, he coaxed her gaze to meet his. "It will be fine, love. Trust me."

Looking into his eyes so filled with love for her, totally wiped away all of her objections. He was right. It was time. She was eighteen and she was tired of hiding her engagement. Wasn't it only two months ago that she faced death square in the face and lived? Telling Charlie should pale in comparison.

Bella nodded, her fingers on the door handle giving it a pull. "Okay."

He grasped her hand in his as they approached the house, needing contact...always needing contact. He had only been somewhat successful in being able to temper his neurotic need and desire to always have her close to him, to have a physical contact in some way since they had returned back. As much as he would like to, they couldn't always be together, after all.

"Can you hear him?" Bella whispered nervously.

Edward smiled. "He's humming."

"Humming?" Well, that was out of character. Curious, she picked up her pace until Edward stopped her.

"Bella, wait."

"What's wrong? I thought this was settled." She wanted to do this now before she turned into the cowardly lion and lost her nerve. It didn't hurt that Charlie was in a good mood either. Nothing like striking while the iron's hot.

She turned to Edward. He looked nervous; his weight shifting from one leg to the other, his free hand fisting and unfisting by his side.

"It is." He placed a stray strand of hair behind her hair and cupped her cheek. "I just…when we go in there…I want …"

"Edward, what is it?" Now she was concerned. Edward rarely stumbled over his words.

"Call me old fashioned and I suppose I am but _I_ would like to be the one to tell your father…ask for his blessing as it were. You see, I'm only going to be doing this once and I want to do it the way I had always envisioned…the way that I would have done it if we were in the era I grew up in. Please…it's…it's_ important_ to me."

Bella's face softened and she caressed his cheek. Was she terrified? Yes, absolutely. Would it possibly give Charlie a new respect for Edward? Maybe…if he didn't try to shoot him first. Could she sit there idly as an observer and not an active participant? It was doubtful. But she would try…for Edward.

"Of course…but if he takes out his gun..."

"I'll duck." He chuckled before giving her a quick kiss on the nose.

* * *

><p>They sat on the couch across from Charlie as he watched them suspiciously over the beer he currently had at his lips. Bella's hand was clasped tightly in Edwards, his fingers stroking soothing circles across her knuckles. Was his palm sweating? Oh no, that was her. <em>Gross<em>. She tried to subtly extract her hand from his to wipe it down on her pants but he wasn't letting her go.

"So what's this about?" Charlie asked as he set the beer can down and looked at Bella.

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth to keep from speaking. This was Edward's show now.

Edward cleared his throat. "Well, Chief Swan…Sir…"

"I thought I told you that you can call me Charlie, son."

"Okay." Edward let out a breath and gave a small, uncertain smile. "Charlie." He looked directly into Bella's father's eyes which narrowed further in suspicion. It didn't help that he could read the man's thoughts and he tried hard to ignore the speculations being internally verbalized. "We have some good news." He couldn't help the wide grin that spread over his face at the thought of Bella walking down an aisle surrounded by their families and friends to become his..._his wife_.

"Good news?" Charlie questioned with a raised eyebrow, his eyes darting back between the two of them. "If it's so good then why are your sweating bullets, Bella?"

"I am not!" She squeaked out trying to ignore the urge to wipe the perspiration she felt gathering on her forehead under Charlie's intense scrutiny.

"My God, you're pregnant, aren't you?" Charlie exploded, catapulting out of his easy chair.

This is exactly what she was trying to avoid…what she knew was going to happen and they hadn't even mentioned getting married yet.

"_No!_ Of course I'm not." She shot back infusing the most offended tone she could muster.

Charlie glared at her a moment using his professional skills to discern whether or not she was telling the truth. His face returned to it's normal color and he sat back down again. "Sorry." He mumbled.

Edward waited a pause until Charlie's heart rate return to normal before he continued. Giving Bella a reassuring smile, he squared his shoulders and turned back to Bella's father.

"Charlie, I realize that I've gone about this out of order. Traditionally, I should have asked you first. I mean no disrespect, but since Bella has already said yes and I don't want to diminish her choice in the matter, instead of asking you for her hand, I'm asking you for your blessing. We're getting married, Charlie. I love her more than anything in the world, more than my own life, and—by some miracle—she loves me that way, too. Will you give us your blessing?"

Edward watched as Charlie's eyes focused on the ring; his face turning a myriad of colors; peach to red, red to purple, purple to blue. Charlie's mind was chaos. Edward was treated to visions of an infant Bella, wrapped in a hospital blanket crying in her father's arms, Charlie's awe the first time he fed her a bottle, Charlie letting go of the back of her bicycle as she learned how to ride on her own, Bella trying to bait a fish hook under Charlie's guidance and getting the hook stuck in her finger, Bella as she stepped off the plane after she decided to move in with her dad, Bella as she walked down the steps, a vision in blue and a cast the night of the school dance.

There were painful memories too, the ones Edward had seen when he first came back two months ago but would never forget. They were forever burned in his memory; a constant reminder of his failings and near fatal errors. Edward then saw Charlie slowly resign himself to the fact that Bella wasn't his little girl anymore…not really.

He felt Bella start to get up beside him but he gave her hand a squeeze. "Give him a minute." He whispered so only she could hear.

Bella gave Edward a doubtful look and sat back down. She only relaxed when she saw Charlie's color gradually return to normal and look at them thoughtfully.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked and since he directed the question to her, Bella felt she had to be the one to answer.

"I am. One hundred percent."

"Getting married though. What's the rush?"

Edward could hear Charlie's thoughts revisiting the pregnancy speculation and he silently wished in that moment it could even be a concern. Part of him hated the fact that he and Bella would never be able to have children of their own. Even though she denied the desire to be a mother, he couldn't help but let his mind conjure two perfect children, one girl and one boy, with eyes and smiles identical to Bella's and hair like his. He banished the thought quickly not wanting his remorse over never having children with Bella taint this moment.

Charlie's question was valid, Bella thought. One she probably would have asked had she been in his position. She couldn't however, explain to Charlie that she was getting older everyday while Edward would remain in his seventeen year old perfection forever…that he wanted the sanctity of marriage before he changed her into a vampire like him. Edward was old fashioned that way. Nor could she explain that children were never a possibility.

"We're graduating in a week and we're going away to Dartmouth together in the fall, Charlie," Edward reminded him saving Bella from having to lie. "I'd like to do that, well, the _right_ way. It's how I was raised." He shrugged.

Edward knew he had effectively argued his case. What father would prefer his only daughter living in sin?

Charlie remained silent for a few moments digesting this before looking back at Edward then at Bella.

"I knew this was coming." Charlie muttered knowing his hands were tied. Then he started to laugh.

Bella thought he had finally lost it….like off his rocker, truly gone fishing – lost it.

"Dad?" She looked at Edward for a translation, but Edward had his lips pressed tightly together, like he was trying to hold back laughter himself.

"Okay, fine," Charlie choked out. "Get married." Another roll of laughter shook through him. "But . . ."

"But what?"

"But you have to tell your mom! I'm not saying one word to Renée! That's all yours!" He busted into loud guffaws.

Telling Renee had been easier than telling Charlie as it turned out. After she stuttered and stammered out the relatively short sentence, her mother wondered why she had waited so long to tell her…that she knew where this was heading when she saw them together in Arizona at the hospital…even despite the fact that Edward left her. "Men just get scared sometimes and they run." She had said. "But he came back and that's what counts in the long run. You'll never have to wonder if he'll be happier elsewhere without you or you without him. You already know the answer."

"You're not… _mad_? You don't think I'm making a _humongous_ mistake?" Bella knew she shouldn't rock the boat but she had to ask. All her life, her mother drilled into her head what a big mistake she had made by getting married so young.

Renee sighed into the phone. "You're not making my mistakes, Bella. You sound like you're scared silly, and I'm guessing it's because you're afraid of me." She'd giggled. "Of what I'm going to think. And I know I've said a lot of things about marriage and stupidity—and I'm not taking them back—but you need to realize that those things specifically applied to me. You're a completely different person than I am. You make your own kinds of mistakes, and I'm sure you'll have your share of regrets in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know." Renée had laughed again. "So August 13th, huh?"

"That's the plan."

"Hmmm, I just hope Phil is out of his cast by then and oh!...I have to buy a Mother-of-the-Bride Dress and plane tickets and there's your shower…Esme, Alice and Rosalie are helping, I hope…"

"Mom! Deep breaths." Bella reminded her. Renee was more nervous than she was and she wasn't the bride to be.

After a few more minutes of speaking to her mother, Bella had hung up the phone and tossed it uselessly onto the mattress.

"So how's Renee'?"

Bella jumped with her hand over her heart, stifling a scream. Perched in her open window sat Damon, smirking at her.

"Why do you insist on creeping up on me like this?"

"Why aren't you used to it yet?" He countered as jumped from the sill onto the carpeted floor. Shoving her text books aside, he sat on the edge of her bed.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"Oh long enough to know that you dropped the marriage bomb and it didn't explode like you thought it would….so…" he looked around the room. "Where is tall, pale and twinkly anyway?"

Bella made a face at her brother trying to hide her amusement. Everyday, it seemed he had a new nickname for Edward. She would never admit that some of them she found funny. "He's still talking to Charlie. Something about showing him his portfolio."

"Ahh." Damon responded knowingly. "Charlie wants to make sure your "man" can support you. So what's he showing him? The mass amounts he acquired from his paper delivery route?"

"Actually, it was Edward's idea and it's a bit more than pocket change." She frowned. It was a lot more than pocket change. She had no idea that Edward, himself had realty holdings all over the globe and off shore bank accounts that had more in them than she could ever hope to earn if she lived ten lifetimes. All of it in his name. Thankfully, Edward was just going to show Charlie a small portion and explain it away as an inheritance and well placed investments Carlisle made on his behalf. Still it made her feel inadequate.

"Hey." Damon's voice broke through her thoughts, his eyes full of concern as he watched her. "Isn't being a moneybags a good thing?"

"Yeah, a good thing." She mumbled with a frown. "Don't you have papers to grade or something?" She asked to change the topic. Since he had left Mystic Falls and driven his way to Forks, he resumed his teaching position at least until the end of the school year. It gave him something to do, kept him out of trouble (or as much out of trouble as Damon could ever be) and they got to spend more time together.

Damon knew what she was doing and let go. "Nope or have you forgotten no more papers…just one pesky final exam. Want the answers?" He asked waggling his brows. "Cause you know...I have _connections_."

"What?" Her eyes widened in shock. "No. Of course not."

"Figures." He said messing her hair before becoming contemplative. "So, have you spoken with anyone from Mystic Falls lately?" His tone was whispered with desolate curiosity shrouded under feigned casualness.

It hadn't been the first time he asked and as he fixed his direct arctic gaze on her, Bella was aware that each time it became more and more obvious he wasn't as indifferent as he pretended to be. Yes, he seemed to be doing well in Forks but it was apparent that his heart was always somewhere else.

These conversations always unsettled her; leaving her feeling like she was caught in the middle of something much bigger then herself. Did she tell him that Elena, whom she spoke with on a semi-regular basis seemed increasingly despondent with each communication; that her deep sighs and forlorn tone spoke of a deeper longing for the other brother that she refused to acknowledge? Would it be traitorous to Stefan if she did so? Not that Stefan wasn't aware his girlfriend was slowly drifting from him. Aghh, she felt so useless.

"Caroline texted me today." Bella finally said opting for keeping it light. It wasn't a lie. Caroline was actually asking for her for advice on an Elena intervention.

"So what did Barbie have to say?" Damon didn't do much to hide the disappointment in voice. Bella, it seemed, was ever cautious of mentioning Elena to him. Did she think he might break if he heard her name? Maybe he would…well not break…a bender was more like it.

"Not much." Bella said turning her gazer from his. "If you're so interested you could always call."

"And ruin my plans for a clean break?" He scoffed indignantly. "I don't think so."

Bella winced at the term before turning a sad gaze on him. "Breaks are dirty and jagged, Damon. They are rarely clean."

* * *

><p>"Let's talk China." Alice said as she plunked herself in the seat besides Bella at lunch.<p>

"China?" Bella said in a near state of panic. "Are we supposed to know that for the final exam? We didn't study Asia this year." Maybe she _should_ have gotten the answers from Damon.

Alice giggled before she reached into her large Burberry messenger bag and pulled out a thick catalogue, dropping it on the table in from of them. "No silly. China patterns." She opened it to a page she marked with a pink neon post-it note and pointed. "I prefer Wedgewood but it's your call. You're the bride. Oh and we can't forget the crystal; Baccarat or Waterford…always such a difficult choice." She said with a shake of her head.

Bella's head was spinning suddenly as she stared at unseeingly at the pages before her. "What? Are you out of your mind?" Her voice came out a whispered hiss as she glanced around them making sure no one else was listening. She had just told Charlie yesterday about the engagement and yes, she was wearing her ring now but she still wanted to keep this information under wraps at least until after graduation. "I don't need fancy plates and goblets"

Alice looked almost insulted. "Every bride does." She rolled her eyes.

"Of course." Bella muttered under her breath. "I'll be the first, _you-know-what_ in history to throw elaborate dinner parties on a…" She looked at the page "Vera Wang Vera Lace place setting and Waterford Lismore Red wine goblets."

"Oohh, those _are_ nice." Alice said ignoring Bella's sarcasm as she wrote down them on a list.

"You're missing my point."

"Alice, let her be." Edward said coming over to sit down with a lunch tray and handing a slice of pizza to Bella. "This is about Bella's day. She can do what she wants."

"Bella." Alice began seriously completely ignoring Edward's demand. "People will expect you to have all sorts of things on a bridal registry. Regardless of whether or not you'll actually use it is completely besides the point. Can't you be a little excited over it?"

Now Alice looked hurt and Bella felt immediately contrite. Edward sighed and rolled his eyes. Alice could win an academy award if she ever went into acting.

"I'm sorry Alice. These things are just so expensive. It's wasteful for anyone to spend $400 on six wine glasses especially when I won't even use them."

Alice patted her friend's hand. "If it distresses you so, we'll sell them and donate the money to charity." She smiled once more and gave Edward a knowing smile while she spoke to her friend. "Now let's look at items you will use and use a lot of…the bedding."


	3. Et tu, Brute

**Mystic Falls, VA - June**

_Dear Diary,_

_I wonder if this is what a phantom limb feels like; the knowledge that some integral part of you is missing but you can still feel the sensation of it still being there somehow. Every so often, I think I catch a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye, see his teasing smile…the mischievous quirk of his dark brow…but when I look closer it's…he's still gone. Logically, this is ridiculous. I know that. He is in Forks…with Bella and the Cullens. At least I know he is safe and he is not alone. That is some comfort. If it's for the best, why does it still hurt? Am I really that selfish?_

Unable to continue, Elena threw her pen down and slammed the book shut as well as her eyes. Once written, it would make it…these unresolved feelings, so much more tangible. The thoughts and words circling through her mind were safely contained as long as they stayed there…with no grounding in the outside world.

Her focus strayed to the invitation that sat on her nightstand. It was too fancy for a high school graduation party but that's exactly what it was; stiff white card stock and elegant calligraphic scroll. It had come with a perfectly scrawled note that it was to be a surprise they were coming. No one was to know. The "No one" was underlined twice. They had all received identical notes. All Alice's doing, she was sure.

Stefan had already booked the trip excited to see his sister again. Right after their last final they would be leaving with Bonnie, Caroline and Tyler. Jeremy opted to stay home since he and Bonnie had decided to part ways just last month.

In just a couple of short weeks, she would be face to face with Damon again. Elena prayed that her fragile resolve to do the right thing wouldn't crumble the moment she saw him.

Rubbing her fingers into her temples to relieve the pressure that never seemed to cease, Elena slowly maneuvered off the bed towards the bathroom. The bright light she just switched on made her eyes blink as she looked into the mirror. Staring back at her was a watered down version of herself; eyes once vibrant with energy were now lackluster with purplish bruising under them that she hid everyday behind a thick layer of foundation.

She turned on the faucet and cupped the water in her hands and brought it to her face. For the first month since he left, she had been resolved in her decision and determined to be the Elena she was before her parents' accident. The only problem; she wasn't the same Elena and no matter how many times she tried, you couldn't fit a square peg into a round hole.

The second month, the carefully placed façade of normalcy she shielded herself with had begun to crack and chip. She had used the excuse of nerves over impending finals too many times for it to be believable anymore. Bonnie began to look at her strangely lately...with something akin to disapproval. Caroline had no shortage of sympathetic glances and Stefan…_dear Stefan_…he treated her like a piece of fragile glass that would shatter without a moment's notice. His brows always seemed to be furrowed in concern, he always let her have her way, never argued with her, never pushed her. It was driving her crazy.

She was strong wasn't she? Not vampire strong but hadn't she proved herself by now how much she could take? Maybe that would be more convincing if you didn't look like death warmed over, a voice in her head nagged.

Making her way back into bed, she sank underneath the covers, feeling the warm breeze flow in from the open window. It was a subconscious invitation, she supposed.

The window had remained open for two months.

Just like her invisible wounds.

* * *

><p>"Three margaritas, no salt, light on the ice and don't skimp on the tequila." Caroline told the bartender.<p>

"I'll need to see some ID."

"No you don't" Caroline compelled the unaware employee. "Oh and an order of mozzarella sticks with marinara on the side."

The Mystic Grill was crowded for a weekday night. The college kids were already home for the summer and chose the familiar bar to unwind after their semester finals. Caroline and Bonnie sat across from Elena watching her play with the colored straw of her drink.

"Isn't this fun?" Caroline asked in an overly chipper voice.

Elena shrugged as she looked down. "I guess." Picking her head up she looked around at the crowd watching the all too familiar scene unwind before her with a furrowed brow. "Do you ever feel like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop? It's been really quiet lately."

"Like we're being lulled into a false sense of security or something." Bonnie nodded.

"Oh come on you guys…._really?_" Caroline looked at her two friends in amazement. "Klaus and Katherine are dead. Elijah took off…"

"So did Damon." Bonnie added with a smug smile.

Elena visibly winced at shot her friend a glare.

"Bonnie." Caroline whispered. "That wasn't nice."

"Sorry." Bonnie shrugged, "I know he's a sore spot 'Lena but I won't apologize for being happy he's gone. I don't know why you're not."

"Just drop it okay." Elena warned. "It's not like he's completely off the grid. We'll all be seeing him soon at Bella's graduation."

"That should be interesting." Caroline muttered under her breath as she took a large gulp of her drink. "So has anyone heard from him since he left?"

Elena shook her head. "I don't _even_ think Stefan has spoken to him."

"I'm not surprised…considering…" Bonnie let her words trail off as she sent a knowing look Elena's way.

"Considering what, Bonnie?"

Bonnie remained silent; only shrugging one shoulder with a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Elena's back stiffened. Suddenly the impromptu girl's night out didn't seem so impromptu after all. She got a sickening feeling in the pit off her stomach that there was a hidden agenda she didn't know about. "Alright, What's going on? Why all the questions about Damon?"

Caroline put her hand over Elena's clasping it gently in compassion. "Look Elena, we're not judging you...At least I'm not." She shot a pointed glare in Bonnie's direction. "We're worried about you. You've been in this weird funk lately. Did Damon say anything..._do anything_ before he left?"

"It's not what you think." Elena whispered feeling some of her façade crumble in the wake of Caroline's revelation despite how much she tried to hold onto it. She had been blind to think she would be able to shelter her feeling from her friends. Was Stefan as aware as they were?

Her eyes pleaded with Caroline to just let it go and maybe she would have if Bonnie had just kept quiet.

"You're in love with him. You're in love with Damon." It wasn't a question but an accusation. Coming from Bonnie's mouth it couldn't be anything but. Bonnie couldn't stand Damon and perhaps she had good reason for that; they _all_ did but he had proven himself redeemable. Hadn't he?

Elena shook her head in denial. She hadn't even admitted to herself her true feelings where the roguish vampire was concerned. "No."

"But you feel _something_." She shot back. "It's so obvious now. After everything he did Elena? How _could_ you?"

Elena's immediate feelings of shame and guilt were quickly over ridden by anger at her best friend. When had it become Bonnie's business to be the morality police; hurling condemnations about her feelings as if she had any control over them.

"I don't know what I feel, okay?" She didn't want to argue, not about this. "But it's not your business anyway. Just like it wasn't my business when you decided to end things with Jeremy."

Bonnie flinched at that.

"Guys…let's not get out of hand here." Caroline said opting for the peacemaker role. "We are only concerned about you Elena. That's all. It's not healthy for you to go on like this."

"Healthy went out the window as soon as she started dating a vampire." Bonnie said stirring the pot just a bit more. "And speaking of _Stefan_, does _he_ know how you feel about his brother?"

"Bonnie, that's enough!" Caroline warned.

"Maybe Katherine isn't dead after all." Bonnie added ignoring Caroline.

To Elena, the words were a slap in the face; bringing up every insecure feeling she had about the whole situation. Tears sprang to her eyes, leaking down her pale cheeks.

"Et tu, Brute." Elena whispered the last lines of the famous Shakespeare play before grabbing her bag and fleeing.

Caroline furiously turned to Bonnie. "What the hell has gotten into you?" She seethed. "What the fuck could you have possibly been thinking?"

Bonnie seemed to be just as stunned; her eyes wide in her caramel face and her jaw slackened with shock. "I don't know." She whispered. "I have to talk to her." She said getting up from her chair.

"No." Caroline stopped her cold with a withering look. "You've done enough damage for one night. I'll go."

* * *

><p>Elena didn't even feel the scraping on her skin as she slid down the brick wall outside of the grill. Huddled there with her arms locked around her knees and her long hair, a veil sheltering her face, she cried brokenly.<p>

Betrayal. Elena had never felt the sting of it so sharply as when it had come from her best friend's mouth. The words were of malicious intent, of that she was absolutely certain. Although, hadn't Bonnie only spoken out loud what Elena had already known deep inside her to be true; that she was more like her ancestor than they all thought?

"Bonnie feels terrible." Caroline said as she sat down next to her on the ground placing her arm around Elena's shoulders.

Elena chuckled through her tears as she leaned against Caroline. "She should…" She sniffled into her sleeve. "She's right though."

"No." Caroline said firmly. "She isn't. Having feelings for two different guys doesn't say you're Katherine. It says you're seventeen. You're not supposed to have it all figured out yet. If you were really like Katherine, you wouldn't be feeling all this angst over it."

"The end result is still the same."

"It doesn't have to be." Caroline said softly.

Elena glanced over at her friend with a completely lost expression on her face. "What would you do Care, if you were me?"

Caroline laughed. "Probably screwed it up a long time ago." She got up and held her hand out to Elena. "Seriously though...right now you're not being fair to Stefan, Damon and more importantly, to yourself. Maybe you should take some time alone to figure out what and who you really want."

Elena was quiet as she stared up at the star filled sky and contemplated her next steps. Caroline was right; she wasn't being fair to anybody but could she do what her friend suggested.

"Come on." Caroline linked her arm with Elena's. "I'll take you home."

"What about Bonnie?" She said turning towards the door.

"Oh I'm sure she can get home on her own." She wrinkled her nose and guided Elena away and down the steps. "You know...twitch her nose and a taxi appears or something like that."

* * *

><p><strong>Somewhere in Oregon<strong>

"Idiots! I've aligned myself with idiots!" Klaus shouted at the motley crew of newborns as he paced the floor of the dark warehouse waving at the pile of exsanguinated bodies in the far corners of the room. "What part of _discreet_ did you not understand?"

His questions were met with low rumbled hisses and growls. This was not what he signed up for when he first met up with the fiery haired Victoria in the abundant Texas desert. It was supposed to be easier than this. Victoria was nowhere to be found since she charged him with this mission of training the newborns into submission for their cause. "Don't let them attract attention" she had warned him wanting to evade the Volturi at all costs before she took off and left for parts unknown. She claimed she had her reasons but right now he could care less.

Easier said than done, lovey, he thought disgusted. A trail of bloodless bodies were cut through Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho and now Oregon. His little group were responsible; what little were left of them anyway after they started to kill each other off.

Maria had warned them to stick with a small group. Victoria had been greedy though; infecting with her venom at whim without a plan. Carnage was the price.

Occasionally she would issue a text message giving him direction. It galled him to no end that he was taking orders from someone else. He just had to bide his time. It wouldn't always be this way. He knew he was destined for greater things. It was because of Alice, the damned seer. They had to get around her somehow. They had a plan but would it work?

"We were hungry." One of them spoke.

Klaus' head turned swiftly to him. "Oh, you were hungry, _were you?_" He snickered as he stalked over to him. "Well, I can solve it so you'll never be hungry again."

Without hesitation, Klaus ripped the young newborns head clear off his body and tossed it to the other side of the room.

"Any one else hungry?" Klaus snarled at the small group of now cowering newborns. "No? Good. You, you and you" He pointed to three newborns. He didn't know their names. He didn't care. "Get rid of these bodies. I don't care if you burn them, bury them or toss them in the ocean…just make damn sure they are never found."

"Are we leaving?" A young girl no more than fifteen asked timidly.

"Soon." He looked towards Riley, one of the first that was changed by him and the least affected by the bloodlust. "Riley, I have a task for you to complete."

"What is it Master Klaus?" Riley asked.

Klaus' chest expanded at the sound of that word; Master. "You're going to Forks Washington."


	4. Hey Jealousy

A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! I am glad you are enjoying the story so far. Here is another chapter before the holidays get under way. Reviews always make great presents. As always, I do not own these characters, I am just taking them out of the box to play with for awhile.

* * *

><p>Bella's new addition to her jewelry collection did not go unnoticed for long by the small Forks High student body. After all, who could ignore a ring like that especially when it was placed where it was; on the ring finger of her left hand? She had tried diligently to be inconspicuous about it knowing what the automatic assumptions would be. And she hadn't been wrong.<p>

Whispers followed her as she walked down the hallway to her next class. Eyes scanned her figure trying to locate the "baby bump" under the skinny jeans and tight v neck top that Alice suggested she wear (for very likely this exact reason) when she called her at six in the morning right after Edward telling her that they wouldn't be in school due to the sun. With the uber tight jeans, she couldn't even cram her cell phone into her pocket.

Fighting the age old instinct to cower in an empty classroom until the bell rang, she pep-talked herself into putting her big girl panties on and continue forward as if nothing were amiss. She rolled her eyes when she saw Lauren Mallory approaching with a smirk. _What the hell else was new?_

_Shoulders back, head up, Bella. You killed an original vampire, surely you can face down the likes of Lauren Mallory and her vicious tongue._

A small crowd had started to gather as if they sensed confrontation was imminent and they all wanted to get in on the excitement. Bella was resolved to walk past Lauren but Lauren had other ideas. She purposefully shouldered Bella causing her to drop her books.

"Hey, watch it!" Bella shouted as she bent over to pick up her books that had scattered on the floor around her.

"Maybe you should watch where you're going, Swan. Wouldn't want to hurt the little fetus. After all, it's the _only_ thing tying you to Edward Cullen."

_You wish, bitch._

Bella slowly stood up, giving Lauren a death glare as she did so. "Think that, _Mallory_. If that's what helps you sleep at night." She seethed. "And God knows you need all the beauty rest you can get." She added knowing attacking Lauren's vanity was her weak spot.

A bunch of awed mumbles came from the group surrounding them and a few more students stopped to watch what was going down.

Lauren's expression soured. She never expected Bella to fight back. "It's so old school to trap a man by getting pregnant. It's too bad Edward is too much of a gentleman to turn his back on you."

Bella laughed refusing to let this bitch bait her. An epiphany suddenly hit her. If the whole school wanted to believe she was pregnant; let them. She knew the truth.

"Don't let her get to you." Angela, who had come up to stand beside her, whispered.

"You're not denying it, I see." Lauren prodded.

"Why bother? You won't believe me either way and frankly I don't care enough about your opinion to waste the time and energy when I have better things to do…like going to Dartmouth and planning a wedding. Now if you excuse me, some of us have _class_." She started down the hall again with a smile, the students surrounding them parting like the red sea.

* * *

><p>"That was hot." Mike Newton whispered from his seat next to her in history class.<p>

Bella was unable to stop the blush from rising to her cheeks. Why was it every time Edward wasn't around did Mike think he got a free pass to hit on her?

"What it was, was stupid." She mumbled back knowing Lauren was probably even now thinking of ways to retaliate. "Besides I thought you liked Lauren and her crew."

Miek shrugged. "Sure she's got a nice bod and all but there's like nothing but space between the ears, you know. I like a girl with beauty as well as substance." He said suggestively, letting his eyes roam over her body.

She cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her chair not knowing how to respond. Luckily she didn't have to. Damon came over to them and placed his palms face down on Mike's desk causing him to lean back in his chair.

"You must be _very_ confident in your abilities to pass the final, Mr. Newton, if you aren't interested in listening to my test review." Damon said in his most sarcastic droll, plagiarizing something he had heard Alaric say once or twice.

"Uh..uh..no sir." Mike stammered.

"Well then I suggest you pay less attention to Miss Swan, here." Damon winked almost imperceptivity at Bella. "And keep your eyes and ears focused on the front of the room."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

><p>"So I heard you went all "bad ass" on Lauren Mallory earlier." Damon waggled his eyebrows at Bella as they sat in the classroom after school. She had opted to help him grade papers as part of her "extra credit" work a few days a week. It allowed her extra time to spend with her brother since they couldn't afford to be seen together outside the classroom lest it be deemed inappropriate. Damon groused at allowing something dictate his behavior but for Bella's sake, he would play nice. It wouldn't matter after next week's graduation anyway.<p>

"I wouldn't call it bad ass." Bella responded hesitantly. "Bad ass would have been if I punched her."

"Why didn't you?"

"I wanted to. Believe me. But you can't just go around punching people because you feel like it." She shot him a pointed look. "Besides what anyone else thinks doesn't rate. Edward and I know why we're getting married. That's all that matters."

"I can fail her if you want."

"_Damon._ " She drew out his name in a warning tone.

"Okay, okay." He held his hands up. "Just kidding."

"No you weren't but I forgive you. It's the thought that counts." Bella's good natured smile changed and she quieted suddenly, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh oh." Damon's look of amusement changed as well. "What's up piccola?"

"Are you happy?"

The question left Damon dumbstruck. He actually hadn't really thought about it. Happiness was never a suspended state of being for him; it came in fleeting moments, striking abruptly and leaving all too quickly. He could probably count the number of times he had been truly happy in the past century and a half on one hand; most of them occurring within the last 6 months. Isabella had been responsible for many of those times. But she would be married soon…starting a new life and he didn't know what part, if any, he would have in it.

Bella, sensing his hesitation and confusion, rushed to explain her question. "I meant, here, in Forks. Don't get me wrong. I _love_ having you here and the time we have together but I can't help but feel selfish. You left your life…everything that mattered to you back in Mystic Falls and…"

"Not everything." He interrupted hating that she felt guilty and responsible for his happiness. "You matter…a great deal as a matter of fact. And don't forget, I left Mystic Falls for self-preservation."

"About that…do you think maybe you acted too rashly…that perhaps things might have changed had you stayed?"

"She made her choice, Isabella. If I stayed it would have only served to make everyone miserable."

Bella wasn't going to tell him that she thought Elena was regretting that choice. It wasn't her place and it would be devastating if she were wrong. "So back to my original question then….are you happy here in Forks?"

Damon sighed. "Isabella, spending time here with you, knowing you, getting close to you again has probably been one of the brightest spots in my long tired existence."

Bella frowned when he was done. "You never answered my question." She pointed out.

He sometimes hated how perceptive she was. "I am…content." He said finally and he realized he actually was. Okay, so he _had_ been in a sexual lull; only a few one night stands here and there that ended up only making him feel empty, dirty and strangely used but he was fulfilled in other ways. There was a sense of belonging to a family that he really never had, thanks to Isabella and the Cullens. He didn't mind teaching as much as he thought he would and it gave him more of a purpose than trolling the bars in nearby cities and drinking himself into oblivion; both alcohol and blood. Oh My God…was he… _maturing_? Damon shook his head with a smile but still somewhat horrified.

"What's so funny?" Bella asked him.

"I think I've been neutered." He whispered in alarm.

Already he felt the rebel within him starting to chafe at his bindings. Maybe he should give Ric a call, bribe him to come out west. The Cullens were cool but they were not drinking buddies…not in the real sense of the word anyway.

* * *

><p>"Another one?" Charlie grumbled when he pulled the newest fax from the machine. He stared at the missing persons poster with a frown, his hand shoveling through his already messed hair. "This is the third one today. What the hell is going on?"<p>

He handed the fax to one of the other deputies. "After you make copies of this and give it to the other guys to start putting around the town put it on the board with all the others."

"Damn." The young deputy took the page from his boss. "How many does this make total?"

"I don't know." Charlie said sounding defeated. "I lost count at fifty."

He sighed, wearily scrubbing his hand slowly down his face as he sat down in the old lumpy chair behind his desk, the wheels groaning under his weight. He looked up at the two bulletin boards that were now covered with missing persons posters wondering what the hell was wrong with the world.

"I come bearing coffee." Bella said as she maneuvered between the cramped desks until she reached her father's office. She set the stryofoam cup on his desk and sat down in the plastic chair before his desk and dropped her book bag on the floor next to her with a plunk.

"To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Charlie asked reaching for the cup and taking a sip. "Stella's?" He asked referring to the woman who owned the local diner. He never got his coffee anywhere else.

"Of course." She grinned and rolled her eyes. "To answer your first question, can't a girl come to visit her dad?"

"Sure Bells...of course you can." He frowned. "I'm sorry if I haven't been around too much lately. We've been busy."

"Got an epidemic of cats stuck in trees, huh?" Bella joked. Forks wasn't exactly the epicenter of hard crime. In fact, she hadn't heard of anything more than a petty robbery with the exception of a few "animal attacks" of course.

Charlie frowned at her words. "Cats in trees are the fire department's territory and don't joke, the situation is quite a bit more serious than you think. In fact, I hope most of your wedding shopping is being done on the internet and Alice isn't planning on dragging you out of Forks anytime soon."

Bella snorted. Alice's shopping habits were legendary, even to Charlie. But something had her father really rattled. "What's going on Dad?"

He stood up slowly, motioning for her to follow him. When he got to the wall directly outside his office, he stopped and pointed. Bella looked up at all the paper faces that stared back at her.

"These are all the missing person reports that have come in the past week from the tri-state area. Men, women, kids...ranging anywhere from fifteen to fifty." He said moving his hand in a sweeping motion. "There are quite a few from Portland but the last one from today was from Longview...only three and a half hours from here."

"But aren't there missing persons all the time?" Bella said not wanting to believe anything odd was going on.

"Not like this, Bella." He sighed. "We maybe get a few a week...most of them young teenagers or little kids. Not fifty. Although there is no rhyme or reason as far as the people are concerned, there is a pattern here."

"A pattern?" She asked looking more closely at the places in front of her trying to reason it out.

"We separated them by state and date reported missing. Whatever is happening and I don't know what it is...it's moving north."

* * *

><p>Bella was thankful to be pulled away from her thoughts when the doorbell rang. She had been making dinner, thinking about her conversation with Charlie. He had been adamant that she stay close to home, carry her pepper spray with her always and try to never be alone when she left the house. He even said he was glad of the fact that Edward and the rest of the Cullens seemed to always be very protective of her. It made him rest easier when he was away at work knowing she was well cared for.<p>

"I'll get it." She shouted as she ran out of the kitchen, past Charlie who was watching a Mariner's game on the television.

She smiled as she flung open the door to see Edward standing there smiling back at her. He was leaning down to give her a kiss when he hissed instead. His smile turned to a grimace, his lips pulled back revealing a row of white teeth, his molten gold eyes turned to black as he gently prodded Bella aside and ran up the stairs not bothering with the human facade.

Shocked at the slip, she looked at Charlie who thankfully was too involved with the game to notice anything out of the ordinary. Before she even had her foot on the first step to follow Edward, he came back down the stairs much slower this time as if suddenly remembering where he was.

The feral look in his eyes was still there when he walked past her and into every room on the first floor. She did follow him then, wondering what the hell he was looking for. She found him, leaning over the kitchen table, breathing heavily, the muscles in his arms rippling with tension.

"Edward?" Bella approached him hesitantly, alarmed by his out of character behavior. "What's wrong?"

"Someone was here." He said through gritted teeth. "I can still smell the stench."

Bella shook her head slowly, confused. "I swear I haven't seen Jacob or any..."

He shook his head furiously, still staring off into the distance...still unable to relenquish his hold on the table. "Not one of them..._one of us_."

"_Us?_ You mean...?"

"Yes, Bella." He turned to her, his expression softening but only slightly. "Though it's not a scent I recognize."

_Well, fuck_. "A vampire was here...in this house..._with Charlie_?" She whispered anxiously, not even thinking of her own safety.

He took the two steps needed to reach her and pulled her close to his chest, tangling his fingers in her hair and pressing his face into her neck. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone touch you."


	5. Something's Gotta Give

A/N: Full steam ahead and I mean that quite literally so fair warning. Reviews keep me warm on cold winter nights (can't type with cold hands ya know).

* * *

><p>"I don't get it." Bella let her hands slap down on her thighs as she paced the length of the Cullen living room. "Why would a strange vampire target <em>my<em> house?"

"Asks the girl who attracts danger within a fifty mile radius." Rosalie chimed in with a teasing smile.

Months ago, the same statement would have been made with a bitter edge. Now Rose spoke with affection in her tone.

"Guess it's a good thing that Longview is over three hours away." Bella muttered under her breath thinking of all those missing persons posters hung at the police station.

Edward's eyes quickly darted to Bella. "How did you hear about that?"

"Charlie." She told him with a shrug. "I went to visit him today."

"It's true, that situation _is_ a problem." Carlisle told them. His hands steepled in front of his mouth in thought. "We may have to intervene before the Volturi are made aware."

"Wait a minute." Bella said, her voice full of suspicion. "Why would _you_ have to do anything about it?"

Carlisle sighed heavily looking down at the floor as he did so. "We've been keeping informed of the situation. It has all the markings of vampire activity." He said regretfully.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be inconspicuous." Damon raised an eyebrow and shifted in his seat. It was Jasper that had contacted him about the "visitor" in Isabella's room and he had dropped everything immediately to come rushing over; inspecting his sister with his eyes to reassure himself that she truly wasn't harmed...and now this.

"Most of us _are_. I think this is the work of a rogue newborn. It can happen sometimes when the sire doesn't take responsibility for what they created and since we are so close and do not want to risk the Volturi's notice sooner than we have to, it may be up to us to do something about it."

"Which is not our main concern right now." Edward reminded them trying to steer the conversation back to the original problem.

Ever since he caught the scent of the unknown vampire he had been on edge. At first, he had felt mind numbing panic that subsided a few degrees only after he inspected every square inch of the small house.

"Maybe it was only a curious nomad with no malicious intentions." Esme spoke thoughtfully. "He or she may have only been interested because our scent is all over the house and there still may be some of the wolf odor..."

"And let's face it Bella...you _do_ smell good." Emmett said with a loud laugh causing Rosalie to punch him in the arm and Edward to growl low in his throat.

"What about the Volturi?" Jasper asked no one in particular. "Would they have sent someone to check on Bella?"

"It wasn't them." Alice shook her head. "I have been looking out for their decisions and they have made none in concerns to us."

"Could someone have acted on their own?" Bella asked. "Jane maybe. She was not too happy with me." Bella could still see the malice in the red eyed glare of the tiny vampire when she realized that Bella was immune to her "gift" nor would she ever forget the pain she had put Edward through because he wasn't.

"No, I doubt she would risk Aro's displeasure."

"Keep looking Alice." Edward didn't even try to soften his commanding tone. He knew it was a lot of pressure for his sister but this unexpected and chilling turn of events had him in a panic. He trusted no errant vampire, no matter how guileless they may be...not where Bella was concerned. Experience was a cruel teacher in that regard.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" Alice threw her hands up in the air and looked skyward as if asking for divine intervention. "Alice, look out for this one, look out for that one...Edward, if I try to spread myself too thin, I'm going to miss something and _that_ is something that I am trying to avoid."

"Edward..." Bella gave him a chastising look. "Stop."

Edward pulled at his bronze hair making it stand on end as he paced the length of the room. "Alice, I'm sorry." He apologized. "I just can't sit around and wait for something to happen." He snarled out.

"Looks like it's security patrol again." Emmett said cracking his knuckles. "What do you say, brother?" He smiled looking at Jasper.

"I'm in." He grinned, banging fists with Emmett.

"Don't count me out." Rosalie added.

Damon stood up unable to sit still anymore. "Me too." He was itching for a fight to alleviate the ennui that was beginning to creep up on him. If getting to go ballistic on a cold one would help, he was all for it...especially when he would be protecting his sister.

"I'll contact Sam." Carlisle announced. "The pack should be aware that there is a possible threat in the area." He looked at Edward as if he would argue with him but Edward gave a terse nod and turned away, the muscle tick in his jaw becoming more pronounced.

Bella had heard enough. It was happening again. They were making decisions about _her_ safety without _her_ input...decisions that put them in harm's way again.

"No! No! No!" Bella shouted as she looked around the room at her makeshift family. "Not again. You will not put yourselves in danger because of me _again_."

"Relax, Bella." Edward attempted to assuage her. "There are eight of us, even more with the wolves involved." He made a sour face just mentioning them but Carlisle was right, they had to know and hopefully Sam would be able to keep Jacob in line. "The danger, if any, is minimal."

"Then why are _you_ freaking out." She demanded, calling him on the obvious lie.

"Haven't you noticed by now, darlin', that Edward always '_freaks out_' where your well-being is concerned?" Jasper sent smirk Edward's way.

It was a logic she couldn't argue with. Defeated, she slumped in her seat.

"Esme, you and Alice go over to Bella's and pack some of her clothes and toiletries." Carlisle said to his wife. "Make up some story that she fell asleep studying for the finals and you didn't want to wake her. Charlie will be more inclined to agree if you explain it. Bella will spend the night here and we can take turns patrolling around her house for Charlie's protection. Is that agreeable to you, Bella?"

Bella sent a grateful look his way; glad that he, at least, included her. She nodded her assent.

Carlisle smiled warmly at her. "Good. It's settled then. At least for now."

* * *

><p>Bella stared out the window of Edward's bedroom watching Emmett and Jasper leave for the first shift of operation "Charlie Watch"; their term, not hers. It was a feeble attempt at humor to make her feel better about the whole situation. It worked...for all of two minutes.<p>

As if feeling her eyes on them, Jasper turned around and looked up at her through the large glass, giving a military salute and a wink. Bella returned the salute but not the smile.

She heard the door of the room open and shut but her gaze remained fixed outside. It was almost clear for once; stars shone brightly againtst the backdrop of the night sky. Clouds were slowly moving southward though, threatening rain for the morning. What else was new?

His arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her towards him and kissed the top of her head. Edward had watched her momentarily before approaching her; saw her forlorn expression reflected back at him through the window. He felt the worry that radiated in her eyes sear him, leaving him burning in it's wake. The expression, he knew was unguarded. A look she would never reveal had she known there were witnesses to it; especially him. And that bothered him. She was too concerned with shielding her emotions to save him from pain. She didn't understand that he wanted to share that burden...it pained him more knowing she was keeping the worst of them from him.

That was a conversation for another day, however. Right now he needed to help her somehow...make her forget at least for a little while.

Bella wanted to relax in Edward's embrace but there were too many things going through her head for her to truly give in to his soothing touch.

"This is only a temporary fix." She told him. "Charlie would never agree to me taking up residence here...even if we _are_ getting married."

"I know" he sighed, staring at their translucent reflections in the glass. "But I don't know what else to do...save from abducting you to some deserted island somewhere." He forced a grin.

Bella shook her head with a slight smile. "Completely immpractical...no matter how nice it sounds."

"Hmmm, I can picture you now." He twirled her around to face him, bringing her back into the folds of his arms again. "Wearing some scandalous barely there bikini, keeping me in a constant state of arousal as you lounge on the beach drinking coconut milk and eating mangos. The juice would drip down your chin, into the crook of your neck...between your breasts." Edward's eyes smoldered as his fingers traced a path down her skin; over the imagined juice trail he just described.

He bent his head towards her, his tongue darted out to flick at the corner of her lip before lapping and sucking gently down her neck. Bella closed her eyes as she felt liquid heat pool at the juncture of her thighs. Her breath was starting to come in short, quick pants.

"I don't own a scandalous barely there bikini." She managed to say as she bit back a moan.

Edward smiled into her neck. "You will."

"I hope you brings lots of sunscreen then." She whispered. "I have a tendency to burn."

"I have _no_ problem rubbing it all over you." He said huskily, smoothing his hands down her back until he could cup her buttocks and grind his hips sensuously into her pelvis. "I will be the only thing making you burn."

He walked her backwards until the backs of her legs collided with the mattress. Tugging her cotton camisole over her head, he threw it across the room and pressed her gently on the bed; covering her body with his own. He cupped her chin to hold her in place so he could capture her lips with his and plunge and plunder at will.

Bella purred deep in her throat and wrapped her legs around Edward's hips; feverishly thrusting and rocking her pelvis against the hard length through his pants. With a playful growl, he grasped her wrists in one hand and held them over her head as he found her rhythm and made his own.

"Too many clothes." He grunted, making quick work of peeling her yoga pants and underwear over her hips.

He cupped her pubic mound, his finger thrusting upward into her. Her juices pooled onto his hand, the scent of her undiluted arousal and the feel of her hot walls clenching tightly around his finger nearly made him come right there.

"Please Edward." Bella thrust her hips upward in a plea. "I need you now."

It was the only invitation he needed. He ripped of his pants in haste, hearing them tear but not caring. He was too far gone in his passion.

In one swift movement, he was inside of her. The relief of being surrounded by her tight heat was so intense he couldn't move...didn't want to. Bella raised and circled her hips, writhing against him.

"Don't stop." She begged as she gripped his shoulders, her nails scratching down his broad back.

But Edward had other ideas. He glided slowly out until the tip of his penis circled her clit before moving it up and down her labia. Bella whimpered in frustration and unbridled ecstasy. Everytime she tried to manuever her opening so he could enter her, he shifted, finding another spot on her where the pleasure was more intense than the last.

Finally, Bella couldn't take anymore. He was driving her mad with his teasing thrusts and strokes everywhere but inside her. where she longed for him to be. She tugged at his hair forcing his hot gaze to meet hers so he could see the fierce desire in her eyes.

"Fuck me." She commanded through her teeth; not even remotley embarrassed over speaking so crudely.

Edward's eyes widened a bit in shock before his eyes darkened to black with lust. He felt something primitive in him react to her forceful demand. He groaned loudly and his lips peeled back over his teeth in feral hunger that had nothing to do with feeding and everything to do with satisfying his need to claim her...to have her writhing in ecstasy beneath him...to feel her tight, wet heat surround him; contracting around him. He craved.

Rearing his hips back, he rammed forward in one quick thrust. He dug his nails into the mattress for purchase and pounded as hard as he could allow without Bella getting hurt. It amazed him that some part of himself remained rational enough for that. He would analyze it later but for now he wanted nothing more than to feel Bella tighten herself around him, meeting him thrust for thrust.

When Bella reached orgasm; it came in waves; one right after the next until they all flowed together leaving her a molten mass of jelly. Edward came soon after with an exultant roar, his seed shooting forth in a endless stream. He collapsed on her; their limbs a tangled mass on the now shredded mattress.

Depsite Edward's cold body temperature, Bella could see and feel the fine sheen of prespiration that covered her body. She was out of breath but she satisified down to the tips of her toes. Her whole body tingled.

Realizing he was probably crushing her with his weight, Edward rolled over onto his back taking her with him so she was laying half on top of him.

Bella traced her fingers along his chest. "That was..." she paused trying to think of the right words.

"Incredible? Intense? _Mind blowing?_" He suggested.

"How about all of the above?"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Edward asked suddenly concerned as his eyes darted over her looking for any evidence that he may have harmed her. They were still new at this and he would forever hate himself if their lovemaking while she was still human caused her any pain.

"No." She frowned up at him. "It was perfect."

Suddenly she remembered her foul languanged demand and a bright red blush stained her whole body. She turned her head away from him in shame. He reached over with one hand to cup her cheek and turned her to face him.

"What's wrong, beautiful girl, to make you blush like that?" He asked worriedly. "I _did_ hurt you didn't I?" His tone took on one of self-effacement.

Bella shook her head silently, her eyes not meeting his. "No."

"Then what?" He furrowed his brow trying to think what could have changed her mood so suddenly.

"Edward." She started hesitantly with a thick swallow past the lump in her throat. "About what I said..."

"About what...?" If possible, his forehed furrowed even more. "I don't understand."

"You know...before." Her blush turned even more red. "When we were...and you were...And I said..."

Realization srtuck him and he couldn't help but laugh uproariously, his shole body shaking. His sweet girl was embarrassed over what she demanded of him...or rather _how_ she demanded it.

"Why are you laughing at me?" She sat up hugging the sheet to her body. Forget embarrassment. She was angry now.

He coaxed her back down to lie against him once more. "I'm not laughing at you, love." He shook his head. "If you only know what saying that did to me, Bella, you would understand exactly why I'm laughing."

"Why don't you explain it then?"

"Oh, my sweet, beautiful, innocent girl! When you said that, I felt such a surge of lust for you that I could barely contain myself. It made me wild...crazy for you. And while at first it shocked me to hear something so uncharacteristic come out of your mouth, it made me feel so powerful that I could move you to such heights"

"You sound very proud of yourself." She observed wryly with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Bella." He said seriously. "Never feel ashamed or embarrassed by what you say in the throes of passion. I guarantee nothing you say _or do_ for that matter..." He added suggestively. "Would bother me...unless you shout out another man's name of course." He kidded.

"So...that was...um...okay with you?" She was still unsure. Edward had always been the epitome of the gentleman...courteous, refined and well mannered. The truth was she shocked herself.

He hugged her tighter to him. "Trust me, love. It was more than okay. In fact I look forward to what you may say next time." He chuckled. "You do have a habit of surprising me."

"Hmmm, well right now I have to say thank you." She told him sincerely.

"Whatever for?"

"Taking my mind off the worry for my dad."

"Did it work?"

She nodded into his chest closing her eyes. "For a little while."

* * *

><p>Through the partially open curtain, Stefan watched as Elena strode up the walkway of the boarding house with more determination than he had seen from her in months. Her expression was sad and he wondered what caused it.<p>

The confession she had made to his brother while she lay near death in his arms that fateful night had been a constant weight on his mind; creeping up on him in the middle of the night even when she lay safely tucked in his arms.

He had been losing her steadily since then. He felt it to his very core. He had fooled himself at first into believing it was just the aftermath of everything that happened but deep down he couldn't release the feeling that it was more than that. When Damon first left, Elena threw herself into their relationship wholeheartedly. So much so, he was convinced that they would be okay...that everything would work out.

It didn't last long. The changes in their relationship didn't happen overnight. It was more a slow demise. She began to spend less and less time overnight. Every so often, he would catch her with a distant look on her face as if she were a million miles away in thought. She would shrug it off, of course. But it always came back. The tighter he tried to hang on, the farther she drifted away.

He wasn't the only one that was concerned; Bonnie and Caroline noticed as well. She didn't spend as much time with them as she used to either.

A few times he was tempted to read that journal she always seemed to be furiously scribbling in. He felt shameful every time he considered it and resolved not to betray her trust that way. Talking to her was no help. She always had an excuse and nothing she said seemed to ring true anymore.

He loved her so much it hurt, he thought as he pressed his forehead to the glass and felt a tear slide down his cheek.

It couldn't continue on like this anymore. He knew what he had to do.

"Stefan!" Elena's voice called up the staircase.

Stefan heard her footsteps on the stairs and wiped his hands over his face.

"Up here." He called out after clearing his throat.

Elena found him in his room staring out the window. Hearing her enter, he turned around with his hands on his hips, his sad green eyes boring into hers. He made no move to close the gap between them.

"Hey." She walked a few steps toward him and stopped. "You weren't at school today."

"No."

"I was concerned."

"I'm sorry I worried you."

"It's okay. But you're alright? Aren't you?"

He didn't know how to answer the question. He wasn't alright. Not by a long shot. He deflected instead. "I had some thinking to do."

"Me too." She said somberly before taking a deep breath; giving herself an internal pep talk.

He nodded silently, digesting that. He looked at her with her concerned doe-eyed face and thought of how beautiful she was. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest.

Elena bridged the chasm of space between them until she stood only a few inches from him and reached put to place her delicate hands on his shoulders; a tear spilling from her eye.

They opened their mouths and began to speak simultaneously.

"Elena, we need to talk."

"I love you, Stefan."


	6. Let Me Go, Set You Free

They opened their mouths and began to speak simultaneously.

"Elena, we need to talk."

"I love you, Stefan."

"I know." They said at the same time.

Stefan forced a smile; his face taut while Elena looked briefly away and wrung her hands nervously in front of her.

When had things become so awkward between them, Elena thought. She began to feel a clenching in her stomach, the kind of feeling usually reserved for awful situations. There was a deep sadness in Stefan's eyes as he looked at her.

"You first." She said. Anything to delay the inevitable of what she had to say.

He nodded, biting down on his bottom lip before turning his gaze from her and blinking back the tears that had suddenly sprung into his eyes.

"I _know_ you love me, Elena." His voice was hoarse. The words sliced like razor blades over his tongue. "I love you too. I think I will _always_ love you. That's what makes this so hard." He faced her once again, resolve seeping into his stare and he gave a resigned sigh. "I heard what you admitted to Damon that night."

Elena flinched and sucked in a sharp breath. She had always wondered. Now she knew.

"Go on." She whispered expecting his anger at her betrayal to seep into the surface of his words.

He hesitated trying to find the right words. He didn't know where to stand, how to place himself in the room. He fidgeted around, his composure starting to crack.

"It should've surprised me but it didn't...not really. And despite everything or maybe even because of it, I knew you and he were getting closer...forming a bond of sorts that I wanted to ignore because I didn't understand it. But when you chose me and he left, I figured we would get back on track again...to what we once were...before...well before everything. But you weren't happy, Elena. I could see it in your eyes. I could _feel_ it."

"Stefan...I..."

He held up his hand, palm out, needing to say this now or he would cave completely under her remorseful doe eyes.

"Don't...don't apologize" He gave her a sad smile. "I know one of your greatest fears is that you're turning into Katherine and you've been trying to prove to yourself and everyone around you that you're not. I want to make it very clear that you aren't like her _at all_. Katherine would have never sacrificed her own happiness, wants and needs for the sake of others. And that's _exactly_ what you've been doing, Elena. I can't sit selfishly by and watch it anymore because that would make _me_ like Katherine. I love you_too_ much to do that and I love you enough to...to set you free."

Stefan's words broke. It was killing him to do this but he had to make her understand. He clasped her cold, trembling hand with his while his other hand smoothed a lock of her hair behind her hair and gently cupped her cheek.

She covered his hand with her own. "I never wanted to hurt you like this. I love you." She implored. "When my parents died, I was shattered into a million pieces and then you came along..." Elena smiled, remembering the first time she saw him. "You helped put those pieces back together again. I would never be who I was before the accident...thank God...but your love made me strong..._makes_ me strong." She touched her fingers to her temple, feeling the pounding of her pulse just beneath the surface. "I am just so confused right now. My emotions are all over the place and I don't know what to feel. The choice should be so clear but it isn't."

Stefan nodded. Part of him was glad she was finally being honest with him. Another part hated that she agreed with him so easily.

He looked down towards the floor, his brows furrowing.

"The point is, you have to be free in order to make those choices. Don't think about how I will feel or how Damon will feel, for just once think about how _you_ feel. If you decide in the end that it is me that you want, I'll be here with open arms. If you choose Damon, it may be difficult but I would accept it eventually." He forced a grin. "No one knows more than I do that he is a better person with you than without you. And if you choose a normal life with a normal guy without the threat of vampires and werewolves, well, I may just be grateful."

Elena felt the sharp sting of salty tears make treads down her cheeks and she felt strangely relieved. They were both on the same page. She had come here with the intent to let him go and in this bizarre turn of events, he was giving her her freedom.

"Stefan...I...I don't know what to say." She gave his hand a tight squeeze. "I don't know how things got so thrown off track between us. I'm sorry."

"Hey." He wiped one of her tears away with the pad of his thumb. "No apologies, remember? As painful as this is, we both know it's the right thing."

"So what happens now?" Her chin trembled as she tried so hard not to break down.

He pulled her into a tight hug, tangling his fingers in her soft tresses while she sobbed onto his shoulder, letting go of his own tears.

"We move forward." He forced an optimistic tone. "I'll always want you in my life, Elena." He whispered brokenly. "Even if it's only as your friend." _Even if I'm always left wanting more,_ he added silently. He was too selfish to let her go completely. Any place in her life would have to be enough.

"I really do love you." She said.

"I know." He assured her and pulled back so he could look at her again.

Before he could stop himself, he lowered his mouth to hers in a fierce, desperate kiss; tasting the salt of their intermingling tears on his tongue.

Elena gave herself up to his soft lips, opening her mouth to tangle her tongue with his; her fingers clasping at his hair to draw him closer. She felt his arms tighten around her. She sobbed into his mouth.

He pulled his head back and kissed her tenderly on the forehead.

It was over.

Now they just had to make themselves believe it.

* * *

><p>For the first time in centuries, Elijah thought maybe Klaus had been right. He only wanted to reunite his family. He hadn't really thought beyond that. But his brothers and sister had other ideas. Their lust for blood was so strong, they had torn a bloody trail through New Orleans. At first he thought that being "dead" for so long without the nurturung essence of blood was the cause. But when the hunger should have faded, the desire to feed still ran rampant.<p>

Something was inherently wrong with them. They were rabid creatures with very little if any humanity left and Elijah feared exposure among other things. He was unable to deter them from their cause, which seemed to be nothing more than reaping chaos and fear. Also the wound of betrayal ran deep with them and when they found out he had let Klaus go, he feared they would turn on him. They just might but not before using him to seek him out and kill him.

Elijah remembered Klaus' warning to him; "You have no idea what you will be unleashing."

He thought Klaus was making it up. Now he knew the truth. They were not the siblings he remembered. He had unleashed the very demons from hell itself.

"I know where the litte bugger is" Finn snarled with a savage glee as he threw open the front door.

Finn was particularly singleminded in his desire to track down Klaus. It seemed that once upon a time Finn had fallen deeply in love and Klaus, being jealous of the bond raped his human love and sucked her dry in a fit of rage.

"Ooh, do tell." Rebekah slithered forward in a motion that had brought many men to their knees and subsequently to their deaths.

Finn gave Elijah a dark accusing look. "I thought you said he was human...that he could never be changed back."

Elijah nodded. "That is what the prophecy stated."

"Your prophecy is bunk then." He sneered. "I found a priestess that said differently."

"A priestess?" Rebekah questioned dubiously.

"Well, she _was_ a priestess." He licked his lips letting everyone know what she was now...or rather what she wasn't.

"That's impossible." Elijah stated. "The prophecy stated..."

"That he couln't be turned back into one of us. Apparently there was a loophole. Klaus is a cold one now."

* * *

><p>Where was her favorite sweater...her blue hoodie...her favorite pair of jeans?<p>

Bella checked the duffel bag that Alice had packed for her the night before, rifling through it. Maybe she had missed them when she pulled out the clothes last night.

Checking the hamper, under her bed and on the floor of her closet, she found nothing. The washer and dryer were empty.

"Char...Dad!" She called out down the stairs knowing she was probably interrupting his baseball game. "Did you clean my room?"

She heard a laugh. "And risk your wrath? I don't think so."

Then where the hell were they? Had Alice thrown them out in an effort to get her to wear more fashioable clothes. It seemed like half her wardrobe was gone...even her favorite fleece blanket had disappeared.

Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, Bella pressed Alice's contact.

"Bella?" Alice sounded surprised. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you until later."

"Hey Alice, um you didn't happen to see my hoodie or my blue sweater when you packed my stuff last night, did you?"

"No...why?"

"I can't find them...you know what? Forget I called. It's probably nothing." She tried to laugh it off but couldn't help the icky feeling that crawled down her spine.

Alice wasn't laughing with her though. "Is anything _else_ missing, Bella?" She sounded completely serious.

"My fleece blanket and some other things." She admitted after a pause. Then her mind went towards the odd visitor in her house. Was it possible? "Wait...you don't think..."

Alice sighed heavily through the phone. "I think we can dismiss the possibilty."

"But why? Why come into my room and steal my clothes?" Bella's voice was bordering on panic now. It was one thing for a stray vampire to be in her room but to know he had been digging through her drawers...maybe touching her underwear...she felt her skin crawl. She felt so violated.

"I don't know but we'll figure it out. I promise." Alice tried to sound reassuring. "Damn, Edward is not going to like this at all."

No, Bella thought. No he wasn't.

* * *

><p>Riley scrambled through the forests of Washington fighting the pull to go back. Her scent was ambrosia to him. Her clothes were saturated with it. It would have been so easy to wait there for her to come home. To pounce when she wasn't aware...sink his teeth into the soft crook of her neck and drink deeply the warm flow of her life's blood.<p>

He wouldn't be satisfied until he could get a taste. He hoped when all was said and done, Victoria and Klaus would leave some for him.


	7. Things Spiral Quickly

A/N – Sorry so late on this latest chapter. I was away on business and had no time to right. I hope you like this one. Please take some time to drop me a review if you feel so inclined. Take care!

* * *

><p>This was awkward...<em>very, very awkward<em>.

No, not awkward, Elena thought to herself. Awkward was drunk dialing a guy and his girlfriend picks up the phone. This…well, this was something else entirely.

Everyone at school seemed to sense a major paradigm shift the morning after their official break-up...noticed the uncomfortable greeting when there should have been a full blown PDA by their lockers, noticed his arms dangling self-consciously at his sides while hers clutched her books tightly to her chests as they walked to class flanked by their friends.

By lunch time, word made way around the whole school and Elena just wanted to bang her head against the wall if she received one more insincere offer of condolence like someone died or one more guy asking her what she was doing on Friday night.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked her as she robotically picked over her lunch. She didn't even know why she tried, it was going to taste like cardboard anyway.

Her sad eyes reached his. "No, not really. You?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Don't worry." He told her forcing a small smile and bumping his shoulder with hers. "In a few days the school year will be over."

"Yeah." She nodded absently. "And we'll be on our way to Forks for Bella's graduation." She shivered involuntarily despite the warm rays of the June sun. Speaking of awkward... "Speaking of which, did you tell her...about us, I mean?"

"I did." He admitted, his brow puckering as he reflected back to the phone call he had with his sister.

"_What's wrong?" Bella immediately asked him after he said hello._

_He sighed heavily still staring out the window where Elena had disappeared from view a few hours before. At this point, why lie? Bella would be able to see through him, she always did. "Elena and I broke up." He admitted._

"_What? Why?" Bella's response was full of shock as he expected._

_Stefan didn't know how to tell her the truth…that even though Damon wasn't physically in Mystic Falls, his presence in Elena's thoughts were noticeably prevalent._

"_We both had decisions to make and realized that in order to do what's best for us individually, we had to be apart." That was close enough to the truth. _

"_That makes absolutely no sense." She responded indignantly. "I thought the two of you were solid."_

_We used to be, he thought silently. "These things happen, Bella. It's no one's fault. It just is."_

"Are _you okay?" Her voice was full of sympathy. If anyone knew of the heart wrenching pain of a break up, it was his sister. He heard enough of what happened between her and Edward to know that she barely survived it…literally and figuratively._

_He closed his eyes, pressing the palm of his hands on the window sill. "I will be."_

"_That's a crap answer." She mumbled under her breath. "Oh, damnit. Sorry, sorry. I forgot you could hear that. What I _meant_ to say was, is there anything I can do?"_

_He smiled able to picture her on the other end of the phone with a scowl on her face as she berated herself._

"_Only one thing." He said._

"_Name it."_

"_I don't want Damon to know. At least not yet." _

_He knew Damon would never give Elena the space she needed. It was the only way he could fight for her right now. Damon would find out soon enough._

_Stefan heard Bella's quick intake of breath and he felt horrible for putting her in this position._

"_Okay." She said softly. "Um, how's Elena handling this?"_

"_She'll be okay, too." He tried to instill as much confidence in his voice as he could. "Are _you_ okay?"_

"_Me?" Her voice squeaked and sounded strangled and Stefan's hackled raised._

"You_ called _me _remember?"_

"_Right. Well, it's…um…nothing really. Just wanted to say hello and all that."_

_Nothing? No, not _nothing_…_nothing really_, she said. Which meant it _was_ something._

"_Are you sure?" He prompted._

"_Positive. Things are business as usual here in Forks."_

It didn't occur to him at the time that business as usual in Forks was like business as usual in Mystic Falls and it was never any good. But it did occur to him now. He was tempted to contact Damon and get the "real" story but he couldn't bring himself to make the call. He tried to brush off the feeling of unease. If there was something wrong, surely someone would tell him…wouldn't they? Making a mental note, he decided to call Edward later.

* * *

><p>Jasper and Carlisle discussed the new situation over with Sam and Quil at the boundary line. Normally, Sam would have been backed by Jacob, the second in command but as much as he hated to admit it, Sam did not trust Jacob where the Cullens were concerned, especially if it involved Bella. Sam knew Jacob was sitting so close to the edge of disobeying his Alpha commands and it wouldn't take much to send him over that line.<p>

Neither Jasper nor Carlisle was surprised by Jacob's absence. Carlisle had insisted Edward stay home for the same reasons he suspected Sam had not let Jacob come.

They had come to a mutual agreement of patrolling shifts. Carlisle conceded that the wolves were allowed to cross over the border to run watch but he and his family would not venture onto Quileute land and under no circumstances would Jacob be allowed to go near Bella or Bella's house.

Until this stray vampire was caught, they would work together for the protection of Bella, Charlie and the town of Forks.

Carlisle had no intention of killing the creature; at least not until he discovered the motives behind his visit. He couldn't say the same for the rest of his family or even the wolves.

"Edward's not going to be happy with this arrangement." Jasper said thoughtfully as they walked back.

"He doesn't have much of a choice." Carlisle responded grimly, contemplating nothing less than a volcanic reaction from his first son. "They have agreed most graciously to assist us with this stray and especially since a newborn is wreaking havoc not too far from here…so many unnecessary deaths." Carlisle shook his head in remorse.

"How many have there been so far?"

"Dozens within a few weeks." Carlisle replied with a frown. "Not dead, just missing. But we both know that amounts to the same thing."

"Maybe not." Jasper whispered under his breath before stopping in his tracks, his back stiffening sharply. "Doesn't that seem a little excessive to you?"

"Why?" Carlisle asked suspiciously. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we have more than one newborn on our hands."

* * *

><p>Edward's reaction was positively feral as he paced the confines of the Cullen living room like a caged animal. Even Emmett gave him a wide berth. Jasper never even opened his mouth, only thought the words that sent Edward into a spiraling tailspin of anger fueled by fear.<p>

"A newborn army!" He spat, venom pooling in his mouth.

"Wait! _What?_" Bella looked from Edward to Jasper and back again.

"It makes sense, Edward." Jasper said quietly. "I wish it didn't."

"Are you _absolutely_ certain?"

"Really? You're asking me _this_?"

"Will someone please tell me what _the hell_ is going on?" Bella shouted effectively halting the exchange between the two. She hated these one sided conversations. All she heard was newborn army. The two words separated scared the hell out of her but put together, the meaning became that much more deadly.

"Jasper thinks that the newborn vampire situation south of here is actually the work of more than one…" Edward explained. "Many more than one."

Bella turned to Jasper. "How is it you're so positive?"

Jasper offered a little smirk. "Do you know how I became a vampire, Bella?"

She shook her head. Did she even want to know? His expression suggested that she didn't but he was going to tell her anyway.

"It was 1863." He started. "While you were a charming little southern belle." He smiled briefly picturing his future sister-in-law in hoop skirts. "I was the youngest major in the Confederate Army. It was summer and the Texas heat was dry. Needing water for both my horse and myself, I headed towards the river. I was alone." Jasper was surprised that he could recall that day with vivid detail.

"I saw them then. Three women. With a gentlemanly bow, I introduced myself to them and in return, I learned their names; Maria, Lucy and Nettie. Polite southern boy that I was, I asked if they needed assistance. After all, it wasn't commonplace that women travelled without escort back then. I remember Maria nodding to the two others and said "he'll do." Then I felt the burning."

Alice sidled up to her husband and took his hand gently in hers. He smiled down at her gratefully. She above all others knew how dark this period in his life was. He focused his gaze back on Bella again who looked at him intently. He could feel her compassion for him emanating from her and it was that compassion that bade him to continue.

"It turned out that there was another war going on simultaneously with the Civil War. It was known as the Southern Vampire Wars and it _was_ brutal. Maria had lost her territory and was focused on nothing but getting it back and then some. She had chosen me to facilitate that. My job was to create and train a newborn army to retrieve her former territory and retain dominance above the others. Because of my talent, I was able to control and manipulate their emotions. Her plan worked…" Jasper said ruefully. "Maria was a master strategist. She never let the newborns live past a year, claiming they lost their usefulness after that point. Since she considered it beneath her to do the honors herself and since I was an empath and could catch them in their weakest moments, it was also my job to kill them." Jasper looked down at his shoes, feeling the shame wash over him as fiercely as it did the first time. "It was _also_ because I was an empath that I could feel what they felt as they died."

Bella bit back a sob for him. She didn't want to hear anymore…not if it was causing him this much pain. "Jasper, stop please. You don't have to do this."

He looked at her sadly. "I started it, I may as well finish it." He flashed a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It has a happy ending." Jasper looked adoringly at Alice who smiled back at him.

"Lucy and Nettie were starting to rebel against Maria; wanting their own territories, so I had to kill them too. Eventually, I couldn't do it anymore. The remorse and the guilt were eating at me so Maria and I parted ways. I was alone after that; living a nomadic lifestyle intermitting between starvation and the human equivalent of binging when the hunger became too much. Years later, I met Alice." He smiled indulgently. "She was waiting for me to arrive. She told me there was another way to live; one where we could exist peacefully amongst humans and live off the blood from animals. We found the Cullens after that and we've been together ever since."

Damon heard enough. He had been listening quietly, which was abnormal for him but Jasper's tale stunned him. He had a new respect for the vampire and God knows he wouldn't want to be on the other side of his fangs but what did his story have to do with any of this?

"Engrossing tale, Jasper." He said speaking his thoughts aloud. "But what does that have to do with what's going on now?"

Jasper took in Damon's skeptical expression and sighed. "Because I _know_ how this works. One newborn's only agenda is to feed. More than one wouldn't be able to exist together. They would spread out. There is a pattern here. It's not random. Whoever they are they have been steadily moving north, picking up numbers as they have most likely begun killing each other off and they are headed straight for us and _someone_ is leading them."

"What have we done to warrant such atrocious behavior?" Esme sounded insulted. "We mean no harm to anyone."

Carlisle took Esme's hand in his own. "We are a coven of seven…now eight." He looked at Damon with an acknowledging nod. "Some may feel threatened by that."

"Who? Who would hate us _that_ much?" Emmett asked ready to launch out the door to find them.

Edward turned to him. "The Volturi." He said flatly. "I saw Aro's mind when we were there. Nothing would please him more than to have Alice and I or rather our unique gifts."

"Never" Bella said surprising them all with a growl.

"But I would have seen that." Alice protested.

Before Edward could say anything and judging by the fierce expression he shot Alice, it wouldn't be kind, Carlisle stepped in.

"It's not the Volturi."

"What makes you so sure?" Rosalie was dubious. She didn't trust them even if she never met them.

"It's too sloppy. They would never show such blatant disregard to their own rules. If word got out, their credibility would be completely lost and chaos would ensue."

"Who then?" Edward said, his frustration evident by the way he was pulling at his hair.

"That's the million dollar question now, isn't it?" Damon smirked to hide his own worried thoughts.

"Bella, we have to get you out of here." Edward told her trying to fight the desire to pick her up in his arms and carry her off himself.

"No" She said, shaking her head violently as she crossed her arms over her chest. "No way. Absolutely not."

"I agree." Damon said.

Bella smiled at her brother. "Thank you."

"Not with _you_." Damon rolled his eyes. "With Gary Glitter over there. You obviously have no sense of self preservation."

"So I've been told." She muttered. "I'm still staying. There's prom and graduation and…"

"I don't see anything happening before then, Edward." Alice said cutting Bella off.

"Are you sure?"

Angrily, with her hands on her hips, she stomped over to her brother and glared at him. "Do you think for one second I would risk my sister's life? I would be the first one to tell you to get her the hell out of Dodge if I saw something."

"Fine." He bit out angrily. "But tell me if anything changes."

"Fine!"

* * *

><p>Stefan wanted answers. His conversation with Bella replayed in his mind in a loop all day and the more he thought about it the more he knew something was wrong. He wasn't as connected with her as Damon was but he knew his sister.<p>

Edward picked up the phone on the second ring. "Stefan?"

Should he get right to the point? No. He would see what the other vampire had to say first. "So how are things over in rainy Forks? Is my brother behaving himself?"

"Surprisingly well all things considering. But you didn't call to talk about that."

"So you can read my mind through the phone now?"

Edward laughed but Stefan could sense it lacked any real humor. "My gift doesn't actually reach that far but it's nice of you to think so. Normally if you wanted to chat you'd call Bella. Not me. Which brings me to the conclusion that something is up that you don't want Bella to worry about."

"I spoke to her last night."

"Yes, Bella told me about you and Elena. I was sorry to hear about it. Are you looking for advice because I don't know how helpful I'll be considering the number of near fatal mistakes I made." His chuckle was dark and low.

"No, no.." Stefan assured him quickly. "It's just well…Bella sounded _off_ when I spoke with her. She said it was nothing and well…you know what that means. I wanted to know if there is anything going on that I should know about."

The silence on the other end of the phone spoke volumes.

"Edward?"

"I'm here." His voice was at a considerably lower volume than before and much more somber.

"There _is_ something, isn't there."

"I'm not sure how much I should tell you…how much I _can_ tell you."

Stefan sat down slowly, feeling the air deflate from his lungs. His hands were trembling. "All of it. I want to know all of it."

Edward methodically explained what was happening. Stefan could tell he was trying to keep the emotion…the panic from his voice but it came through loud and clear. The news was worse than he had ever imagined.

"So I suggest that any plans all of you have made to come here, you might want to rethink them." Edward finished.

"I'll talk to the others to see what _they_ want to do." Stefan clenched the phone in his fist. "But I am telling you right now…_whatever_ this is…I am definitely in."


	8. Prom Night  Mare part 1

Stefan cringed as the room erupted in angry protests. He had just told Caroline, Elena, Bonnie and Tyler the situation in Forks. A part of him hoped they assessed the risks and decide it was too dangerous to go. But he_ knew_ them. Elena, Bonnie and Caroline were fiercely loyal to their friends and they considered Bella a part of their group and Tyler would follow Caroline.

"You're not telling us because you want our help, _are you_?" Caroline said cutting to the chase on the matter. "You're telling us so that we don't go."

Stefan briefly closed his eyes against her accusing glare. "Yes." He admitted. "I think it's too dangerous. They don't even know the full extent of it."

"You're going." She pointed out.

"She's my sister, Caroline. _Of course_, I'm going."

"She's _our_ friend. She saved our asses. We're going too." Caroline huffed. "Right?" She looked at the others daring them to refute her words.

"Definitely." Bonnie agreed readily. As far as she was concerned, her loyalty to Bella went beyond her connection with her ancestor and even beyond the fact that Bella had saved them all without regards to her own safety to conquer Klaus. Even without any of those things, Bonnie would be there without question. Bella had become a true friend and for Bonnie, that was golden.

"Caroline…" Tyler looked sheepish with his hands fisted in his pockets "I don't know. I mean it does sound pretty dangerous and my mom needs me…"

Caroline held up her hand, palms out to silence him. "Fine."

Her voice was expressionless. Her gaze was full of unbridled fire. She did not want to hear it.

"You don't mind…?"

"Well, of course, I _mind_." She rolled her eyes. "Idiot."

Elena turned away trying to cover a chuckle with her hand.

"I'm sorry. It's just…" Tyler tried to explain but Caroline was having none of it.

"Quit while you're ahead, Tyler." Elena warned him. "I'm sure Caroline will eventually forgive you for not coming with us."

"Elena." Stefan started apologetically not looking her in the eye knowing she was going to hate what he was about to say. "You shouldn't go either."

Elena sucked in a harsh breath. Not go? She shook her head slowly. "No...No way Stefan."

"Did you not hear what I said earlier?" Stefan threw his arms out in frustration. "About a newborn's strength and out of control lust for blood? And you _want_ to dive right in the middle of it? How do you expect me to be _okay_ with that?"

Elena clenched her fists at her sides and she furiously blinked back the sting of angry tears. "You don't get to do this Stefan. You do not get to tell me that I can't help my friend. How do _you_ expect _me_ to be okay with that?"

Bonnie watched the tennis match like argument and looked at Caroline and Tyler, motioning with her head towards the door. Caroline nodded quickly.

"And on that note, we'll catch up with you later." Caroline said as she walked towards the door with the others in tow.

Elena and Stefan were too busy glaring at each other to notice their friends' quick exit.

Stefan tiredly pushed himself off the plush chair and scrubbed his face with his hands, finally letting his eyes rest on her once again. She looked so beautiful standing there in her indignant fury and his fingers literally twitched as they ached to touch her. Why couldn't she relent on this?

Because she was Elena, that's why.

He swallowed thickly knowing if he had any chance to keep her in Mystic Falls, he would have to be intentionally cruel. And he hated himself for that.

"What I _expect_ is for _you_ not to waste my sister's efforts in keeping you alive. Don't forget she nearly gave her life to do so."

Elena reeled back with a gasp as if he slapped her. "Wasting my life? Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"What would you call it? You're _human_, Elena. There isn't much you can do there except get your self killed."

The tears of anger that had threaten to fall made tracks down her cheeks as she backed away from him. He basically called her useless. After everything, is that what he thought of her? A useless human?

"That's not fair."

Stefan shrugged trying to look as emotionless as possible even if he was dying inside. He may have just lost her forever. But he couldn't relent. Not now.

"Maybe not, but it's the truth."

Elena pivoted on her heel and ran for the door.

"Elena…wait." He called out. He couldn't do it like this. He needed to fix this somehow.

"You can go to hell." She screamed back and the door slam behind her.

Gasping for breath, Elena ran down the steps of the boarding house.

Bonnie, who was waiting for her by the car, jumped forward and caught Elena just as she started to stumble.

"Elena? What happened?"

"Nothing." She shook her head not wanting to talk about it at least until the sting of his words faded. "Where's Caroline and Tyler?"

"They went to _talk_." Bonnie told her with a roll of her eyes.

"Let's get out of here." Elena got into the car and waited for Bonnie to do the same.

"So what happened? Are you coming with us?"

Elena's eyes took on a steely glint. "Oh yeah. I'm coming."

* * *

><p>"Whose crazy idea was this?" Damon said he hung yet another shiny cellophane star on the ceiling of the gym.<p>

"Yours, I believe." Bella tried to contain her laughter as she held the ladder underneath him.

The prom committee was gathered in the banquet hall of the, Kalaloch Lodge decorating it for the dance. They had a very limited budget but with an anonymous contribution, they were able to get everything they needed including giant wall murals of the interior of an old plantation house and authentic gaslight lamps. The effect made it look like a nineteenth century ballroom. The old Salvatore ballroom to be exact.

"No." Damon argued. "_I_ signed up to be chaperone."

Bella snorted. She couldn't help it. The idea of Damon playing chaperone especially when he was the boy father's warned their daughters was irony at it's finest.

"What? You think that's funny?" He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Just put the stars up Da...uh Mr. Salvatore." She had to be careful. Other students were about. "I'm going to go start on the signs."

Bella looked around the room with a sense of accomplishment as she walked through the room. This was her baby. She had been instrumental in putting it all together and no one cold begrudge her that despite what they thought of her relationship with Edward.

Speaking of Edward, he had been very secretive the past couple of days. She knew he was planning something for right after the prom but no matter how hard she had tried she could not get it out of him. And she tried hard.

She grabbed hold of one of the ladders and started to drag it across the floor to where she needed to.

"Are you sure you should be doing that in your _condition_, Bella?" Lauren sneered at her. "You think you have everyone fooled with your little miss innocence act when you're really just a fortune hunting whore. And I'll be right there waiting when Edward finally realizes it for himself."

Bella had enough. All week she had dealt with her comments and the comments of her cronies. And she tried to be the better person, she really did but there was only so much she could take. She had more important things to deal with and Lauren's petty jealous attitude didn't rate on the list. She had to nip this right now.

"Holy crap, Lauren. Why can't you get it through your thick skull? Or is that pea you call a brain is _so_ small, it can't retain anymore information? I. Am. Not. Pregnant!"

All movement and chatter ceased as the other students on the prom committee stared expecting a punch to be thrown any minute.

Damon hurried down his own ladder ready to break a fight up, should it be needed.

"I don't believe you." Lauren returned as she tapped her perfectly manicured nails on her hips.

"You know what?" Bella said indignantly as she mimicked Lauren's stance. "I don't _fucking_ care what you believe. But keep your thoughts to yourself or I'll shut your mouth for you faster than you spread your legs for half the student body. It's a wonder _you're_ not pregnant."

A collective gasp went around the room.

Oh shit, Damon thought.

"Okay, ladies. Separate corners, please." He said stepping in between the two. "And the rest of you…stop gawking and decorate."

God he couldn't believe how low he had sunk. Now he was trying to prevent cat fights. He loved cat fights. Well, except when Isabella was involved. Not to mention, he didn't trust this Mallory bitch. There was something shifty about her.

* * *

><p>"I can't breathe, Alice." Bella panted as she gripped the doorknob while Alice pulled hard on the strings to the corset.<p>

"Just one more deep breath, Bella. Don't be such a baby."

"If you pull this thing any tighter, my stomach will be coming out my back." She complained.

"Which may not be a bad thing. It would definitely put all those pregnancy rumors to rest. Good job with Lauren today by the way. I heard you really got her good." Alice said as she tied the strings. "Okay, perfect. How do you feel?"

"Like if I inhale wrong my boobs are going to pop out." Bella said wryly looking down at herself hoping her dress that Alice had gotten restored and tailored would cover some of the décolletage she had going on.

Alice grinned. "Good. I got the desired effect then. Edward is going to go crazy." She snickered. "Now for the dress."

Unzipping the plastic bag, she pulled away the sides to reveal a perfectly restored ball gown that Bella had worn many years ago. It was a shimmering ice blue silk off the shoulder gown with a tight bodice and full skirt.

Bella had decided against the hoops, declaring she did want to take the authenticity too far and she would actually like to be able to get through a doorway.

Bella's breath caught as she looked at the dress and her eyes started to shimmer with tears, remembering when she wore this dress the first time and the only time. She had danced that night. Oh, had she danced.

"It's beautiful, Alice." She whispered as she trailed her finger down the length of the gown.

"I had the dressmaker add lace trim at the bottom since you had grown a few inches and took out some of the seams on the sides of the bodice. You have a bigger chest now than you had at fifteen."

Alice helped Bella slip the gown over her head and proceeded to button the row of tiny pearl buttons down her back when there was a knock on Bella's bedroom door.

"Can I come in?" Rosalie asked poking her head through the doorway.

"The more the merrier." Bella said wondering what Rosalie was doing here. "Coming to witness my slow death by corset?" She joked.

" Nope. I'm the hair and makeup crew." Rosalie smiled and pointed at a large cosmetic case as she came into the room. "Wow, Bella. That dress is beautiful. Edward may have something to say about your new and improved bust line though." She smirked. "Especially after the prom."

"Yeah." Bella mumbled. She had already figured that out all by herself. The top half of her breasts were revealed over the cut of the dress and though she had tried, she couldn't hike the material up any higher.

Rosalie's last words suddenly resonated.

"What do you mean, _especially after the prom_?"

"You'll see." She said secretively. "Now about that hair…"

* * *

><p>As Edward rang the doorbell of the modest Swan home, he adjusted the ridiculously complicated cravat that Damon created for him. He felt just as nervous as he did the last time he took her to a school dance. Even with that damn cast on her leg, she had been mesmerizing.<p>

He had no idea what she would be wearing tonight. Alice and Bella had been so secretive about it. But then again, he had his own secrets held for this night, he thought as his mind wandered to the elaborately set up cabin at the Lodge that he and Bella would share after the prom.

Charlie opened the door and grinned with one eyebrow raised when he spotted Edward dressed in a double breasted black frockcoat and tan breeches.

"Edward." Charlie suppressed a chuckle and opened the door wider for Edward to enter the house. _I can't wait to get a picture of this._

"Good evening Charlie." Edward grimaced a little at Charlie's amused thoughts.

"Have a seat, if you can." He said as he doubtfully eyed Edward's tight pants and snickered. "Bella!" Charlie shouted up the stairs. "Rhett's here."

Charlie gave him an apologetic shrug but couldn't withdraw the sheepish grin from his face. "Sorry, kid, no offense. I couldn't help myself."

"None taken, Charlie."

Edward turned his attention towards the stairs when he heard Bella's door creak open. His knees nearly buckled beneath him and his breath wedged in his throat as he caught his first glimpse of her as she slowly descended the stairs with one hand on the banister and the other clutching the shawl around her shoulders.

He had never seen anything so beautiful and wondered if she had looked like this back in 1864, how had no one snatched her up. Her hair was parted in the middle and came down to her shoulders in corkscrew curls framing her delicate face. The antebellum dress…it was perfect for her.

Her makeup was light; creating a translucent glow and shimmering pink lips that were smiling unsurely at him as she now crossed the floor to stand in front of him.

Bowing to her curtsey, he took her hand in his and kissed her palm; his eyes never leaving hers.

"My God," He whispered huskily. "You are a vision."

Bella blushed at his heartfelt praise.

"Why, thank you kind sir." She said in full southern drawl as she batted her eyelashes.

"Wow Bells, you sound like an authentic southern belle." Charlie said as he grabbed the camera and took a picture.

If he only knew, Bella thought. She saw her thoughts mirrored in Edward's smile.

"Thanks Dad. I've been practicing."

"Yes…well before you go I have a couple of things to say."

Bella groaned. "Really?"

"Now, now let me finish." Charlie held his hand up. "Seeing how you two are engaged and it_ is_ prom night, I have decided against a curfew. _However_, I must insist that you act responsibly…_whatever_ you do." He glared at Edward. "That goes for you too Edward, if you get my drift."

"Yes, sir." Edward said trying to mask his smile with a somber look.

Bella wanted to crawl into a hole. "Um…okay…let's get out of here, Edward before he decides we need a birds and bees talk."

"Bye Dad." She kissed Charlie's cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too, kiddo." He said as he watched her and Edward walk out the door.

As soon Edward shut the door to his Vanquish, he sped down the street, only to stop abruptly at the corner.

"Edward what are you doing?"

He shifted in his seat to face her with golden eyes aflame.

"I'm sorry but if I don't kiss you right now, I think I am going to spontaneously combust."

Bella smiled seductively. "Then what are you waiting for, Mr. Cullen?"

His lips hovered over hers and she could feel his sweet breath invading her senses. "Absolutely nothing, Miss Swan."

She moaned under his sensual attack, grasping his shoulders trying to pull him closer until their phones rang simultaneously. Edward groaned, pulling away and fishing his phone from his pocket.

"It's a text from Alice." He explained looking at his screen with frustrated frown. "Apparently, if we don't stop what we're doing right now, we will miss prom and she will not allow all her hard work go to waste."

"Well, I guess we better get going then." Bella grumbled.

"Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to continue this later."

* * *

><p>Alice and Jasper were waiting outside for Edward and Bella to arrive. Jasper had dressed like the confederate soldier he was and Alice was dressed similarly to Bella but in buttercup yellow.<p>

"Do you think they heeded your message?" Jasper asked her as he nodded a greeting to some of the other students already making their way inside.

"They better have." Alice responded. "Oh wait, here they come now."

Edward wouldn't let the valet touch his Vanquish. Instead he escorted Bella out of the car and with a quick kiss, he left her standing with Alice and Jasper while he went to go park it himself.

"Why, Bella darlin', may I say you are a sight for sore eyes." Jasper said in an exaggerated version of his Texan accent.

"You flatter me unduly, sirrah!" Bella curtsied with a huge grin. "Whatever would your betrothed say should she hear you speaking thus?"

Alice snorted in laughter. "She would say you are being totally ridiculous. But Jasper is right you do look amazing if I don't say so myself. However, there is just one small thing…"

"What's wrong?" Bella glanced down at herself checking for anything that might be wrong with the dress.

"This." Alice said pulling the shawl off and tossing it into air and out of sight forever. "Now, it's perfect."

"_Now_ Edward s going to have a coronary." Jasper said as he looked everywhere but at Bella, whose bosom seemed to be heaving out of her dress. "Damon too." He added.

* * *

><p>Something was different, Edward noticed a difference as he walked towards Bella and his siblings. He didn't know what until Bella turned to face him and she took a deep breath. Then he knew right away.<p>

His eyes bulged and he tried hard to keep something else from bulging as he saw her in all her southern belle glory. Her milky white breasts were barely covered, glowing in the moonlight, heaving…_taunting_.

"Where's your shawl?" He asked gruffly. How was he supposed to walk in there with her looking like that and control his temper enough not to pummel every guy that would look at her like _he_ looked at her?

Bella silently pointed towards the starry sky.

"Oh get over it Edward." Alice told him. "The shawl totally killed the effect."

Hopefully the shawl was the only thing doing the killing tonight, Edward thought.


	9. Prom NightMare Part 2

A/N - I don't own VD or Twilight...if I did, I'd have soo much more money. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. It has a bit of everything. Please review if you like it and even if you don't.

* * *

><p>They were greeted at the door by caterers dressed as 19th century servants with hors devourers and virgin punch and mint juleps on silver platters. With his hand on her lower back to guide her (and to claim her, if he were to be completely honest with himself), Edward escorted them toward the large outdoor gardens where the "cocktail hour" would be held.<p>

Waltz music played softly through the strategically placed outdoor speakers and small tables, chairs and loveseats were set up all around gently lit up by glowing lamps. Damon stood at the outdoor bar trying to coerce the bartender into getting him a glass of bourbon. There was no way he was going to babysit a whole slew of hormonal teenagers without a little liquid help. He wasn't above compulsion either. In fact , it may be downright necessary.

"C'mon man, no one is going to know."

"I'm sorry sir. But we have no alcohol stocked behind the bars." The young bartender said trying to hide a smirk; liking this position of power. "Now if I could interest you in a cola?"

Damon scowled at the college kid. "No I'm not _interested_ in a _damn_ cola…not unless you pour two fingers of rum in it." He looked around to make sure no one was near before leaning over the bar menacingly. "What's your name, kid?"

"Uh…Tim, sir." He said suddenly nervous, his adam's apple bobbing against the collar of his shirt.

"Well, _Timmy, _I happen to know for a fact that you have a decanter of _something_ back there. You weren't planning on tending "bar" at a high school prom without a few swigs, were you? I could always call your boss over here to double check. Wouldn't want you accidentally serving my charges any booze."

Tim sighed in defeat and Damon knew he had won. He was proud of himself. He didn't need to compel the kid…blackmail, it seemed, worked just as well. The kid pulled out a small unmarked bottle hidden behind various cans of soda.

"So, what's the poison tonight?"

"Tequila."

Damon smirked. "Works for me."

He watched him pour the amber liquid into the shot glass but the kid didn't stop when the tequila reached the rim of the glass.

"Hey Tim, who taught you…"

But Tim's attention was elsewhere. Damon turned to see what had the gangly kid so mesmerized he wasted nearly half a bottle of Jose Cuervo on it. He spotted a figure in ice blue with long mahogany spiral curls and next to her stood smiling not twenty feet away and Edward, with his eyes narrowed menacingly at the bartender.

Damon's breath caught as he looked at the figure in blue again and he was transported back to another time in another place where everything was so much more innocent.

Isabella.

She was beautiful, looking almost exactly like she had all those years ago in the same exact dress. He turned back to Tim, grabbing his shot glass and taking a hearty swallow before he smiled evilly.

"You better swipe that thunderstruck look off your face Timmy boy or that kid over there with the "if looks could kill" gleam in his eyes will bury you so far down the nearest well, your pal, Lassie won't even be able to find you."

With those parting words, Damon left the bar with Tim standing there, his mouth agape and his throat working furiously.

Damon sauntered over to the small group, gave a courtly bow and slapped Edward on the shoulder; wincing as he did so.

Damn, he'd have to remember not to hit Mr. Literal Bod of Steel in the future.

"You look like someone spit on your last lollipop, kid." Damon said, raising a teasing eyebrow. He really should start writing these one-liners down. He would have a hell of a comedy routine if this teaching gig didn't work out. Think of all the comedy groupies…then again let's not think of them, he mused as he pictured large women in plaid shirts and horned rimmed glasses.

"_I'm fine_." Edward stated through clenched teeth; his fists clenched at his sides as he scanned the crowd around him.

Jasper shook his head a silent "no" with a smile at Damon.

It was apparent the empath was getting way too much enjoyment over his brother's discomfort.

"You look very nice, Mr. Salvatore." Alice said giving him the once over.

"As do you, Miss Cullen and you, Miss Swan, look the very picture of a demure southern belle."

Bella snorted derisively at the comment.

"Well, maybe not so demure, after all." He added with a smile.

Angela ran over to them dragging Ben with her by the hand.

"Oh, Bella, you've done such a wonderful job." She gushed.

Bella's face turned red. "Well, it wasn't all me. I mean there _was_ a whole committee."

"Oh come on, Bella. Everyone here knows it was your idea, your dream come to fruition. I don't think the school could boast a better prom in all it's history."

"Um...er...thanks. But enough about me...may I say you look just like a Georgia peach. Such a beautiful gown."

It was Angela's turn to blush as she gave a curtsey. "Thanks. My mom made the dress from a pattern we found online."

"And Ben...don't you look like the debonair Union soldier." Alice told him winking at Jasper who stood in stark contrast in his Confederate General's Uniform.

"Thank you Alice." He bowed, eyeing Jasper warily.

"Okay, kiddies, you have fun." Damon interrupted. "I'm going to wander around, make sure no one's spiking the punch bowl and all that."

"Why does it seem like Mr. Salvatore was the type to spike the punch bowl when he was in high school?" Angela whispered conspiratorially.

"He still is." Bella said under her breath too low for Angela to hear.

Before he could cover his mouth to hide it, Edward barked out a laugh.

Bella and Edward took a stroll around the gardens arm in arm. It amused her to see the Confederate Soldiers mingling with the Union ones. Everyone did so well with their costumes and she was quite proud at what they were able to achieve. She couldn't wait for Edward to see how the main hall turned out.

"Your fan club coming up at one o'clock" Edward whispered low into her ear. She could tell by the way his body stiffened who ever they were, he did not like them.

She looked towards the direction of his gaze to see Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley walk towards them...or should she say they attempted to sashay with less than successful results. They looked like a twin pair of gauche drapes, "Gone with the Wind Style" complete with hoop skirts that bumped into everything they came within a few feet of.

Oh, this was going to be good.

Jessica gave Bella an apologetic look as they approached but Lauren just looked smug.

"Why, fiddle dee dee, Edward, don't you look dashing." Lauren batted her eyelashes but her dress prevented her from getting within an arms length of him.

Okay, so how many times _did_ she watch "Gone with the Wind"? Bella thought restraining a giggle.

"Thank you, Lauren." Edward said politely but it didn't go unnoticed by any of them that he never commented on how she looked.

"And Bella...you look uh...nice too." Her tone was blatantly condescending, her eyes focusing on Bella's waist...her incredibly tiny waist.

Bella didn't say a word. What was on the tip of her tongue would surely get her into trouble.

Lauren's flirtatious smile at Edward dipped at little when she finally realized that he didn't respond in kind.

"Aren't you going to tell me how gorgeous I look?" She teased as she twirled or tried to considering the considerable girth of her dress.

Edward, however, was not so amused. He did not like the vein of Lauren Mallory's vindictive thoughts.

"Hmmm, I would." He said, tapping his finger against his chin as he appeared to asses her outfit. "But my mother always taught me, if I don't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all."

Bella couldn't help but laugh as Edward led them away towards a secluded benched area, leaving Lauren and Jessica with their mouths agape in shock.

"That was horrible." She said to him in between giggles. "You could've at least complimented her on the imaginative recycling of her mother's old curtains."

Edward snickered. "Now who is the horrible one, my love?"

* * *

><p>When the double glass doors were slid open and the hostess called for everyone inside, they all got to see the final results of what the prom committee worked so hard on. The entire hall had been transformed into a ballroom straight out of the history books with polished wooden floors, imitation candle wall sconces and faux crystal chandeliers. The wall murals replicated the walls of the interior of a grand southern plantation home. Even the waiters and waitresses were dressed as staff from an era gone by.<p>

"Wow, Bella, _this_ is amazing." Jasper said in awe as he looked around him. "I feel like I went back in time."

"It's the exact replica of the old Salvatore ballroom." She told him. "Giuseppe was a very generous host prone to extravagant parties to show off his wealth and power in the community." Bella explained further. "It's too bad that generosity didn't extend to his immediate family."

She shook her head fighting off the melancholia thinking of those years inevitably brought on. Tonight wasn't about living in the past, it was about making new memories to combat the old ones.

"Hey, Bella, maybe we can get the DJ to play a country reel to show 'em how it's done." Jasper winked and nudged her lightly immediately transforming her mood.

"I'd be delighted." Bella responded to everyone's amazement.

Edward shot her a disbelieving look. "I thought you don't dance."

"Without the aid of tequila." Alice added cheekily.

"I do now." Bella said playfully.

She had been practicing her steps with both Jasper and Damon on the side. The DJ, who happened to be Eric Yorkie's older brother home from college, would be playing mostly modern music but as a special request, he agreed to put on a couple of really old dance numbers to add to the effect of the evening.

* * *

><p>Edward remained a constant by her side throughout the evening. His gaze would darken at any guy that dared to think of her inappropriately and to Edward, there was quite a bit of <em>that<em> going on.

She would never believe me if I told her, he thought. But she so looked heartbreakingly beautiful. He couldn't wait until the evening ended and he could whisk her off to their own private secluded cabin where there would be no worrying over Emmett or anyone else overhearing them…and with Charlie's blessing…_sort of_. Edward couldn't help the silly smile on his face. He had to remember patience though. This would be her only prom as a human and he wanted it to be memorable for her.

That's why despite the violent feelings he began to harbor towards the hired photographer of the event, he had paid him to take additional photos of Bella and their group…demanding that the lecher send him the negatives as well.

Bella had excused herself to go to the restroom and he was waiting impatiently for her to return so he could take her on the dance floor when Alice tapped him on the shoulder looking very concerned.

"Houston, we have a problem." She said.

Automatically, his mind was filled with thoughts of newborn vampires crashing the prom, leaving it in a virtual bloodbath until Alice shook her head as if she could read his mind.

"Nothing so dire to put that expression on your face."

"Then what?"

"Lauren's little mind is concocting a revenge against Bella. She's vacillating between spilling punch down the front of her dress or popping a few valium that she stole from her mother into Bella's drink. I keep seeing two different outcomes…neither of them are...appealing."

Edward's fingers flexed at his sides. There was no way he was going to let that insipid bitch destroy Bella's night.

"Where's Damon?" He asked searching the room.

"At the bar." She snorted. "Where else?"

Without giving Alice any explanation, he quickly strode towards the bar where Damon was chatting it up with a female teacher. Ignoring the bartenders frightened gasp, he placed a firm grip on Damon's shoulder, spinning him around in his barstool.

Realizing he was breaking out of character, he forced a thin smile. "Excuse me, Mr. Salvatore. I was wondering if I may have a word."

All evidence of Damon's flirty countenance fled as he stared into the brittle face of his sister's fiancé.

"I'll be right back, ma petite." He bowed to the gushing woman and gave her hand a peck. "Okay, talk to me." Damon said as he led Edward to a quiet corner.

"Lauren Mallory is planning something against Bella." Edward launched into the explanation of what Alice had seen while berating himself for not being able to hear Lauren's thoughts. Truthfully he hadn't wanted to pay attention to the depravities going on in her mind so he tuned her out. Now he wished he hadn't. Still there really was nothing he could do, but he knew Damon could.

"Damnit." Damon cursed. "I should've realized that bitch would not let it go. Okay." He said after thinking for a moment, a thoroughly evil smile lit his face. "I know what I am going to do. Go find Bella and do not let her get within a few feet of her."

Edward nodded and set off to find his quarry.

* * *

><p>The dance floor was packed, the music was loud and the lights were colorful as Lauren made a beeline to the punch bowl. God, she was so thirsty.<p>

"C'mon, Lauren, let's go find our dates and dance. I love this song." Jessica whined behind her.

"I need something to drink." She said over her shoulder.

Jess, who never liked to do anything alone, followed her.

"So what did Mr. Salvatore have to say to you? It looked very_ cozy._"

Lauren thought for a moment. She couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember? She was positive it must have been something about a date after graduation….what else could it have been…the way he stared at her with those seductive blue eyes of his.

She stopped in front of the bowl of red punch and before anyone knew what she was doing, she lifted it with both hands and poured it over her head, splashing Jessica in the process.

Jessica screamed; jumping backwards and slipped on the floor, falling on her behind.

The music came to an abrupt halt and everyone stared at Lauren holding the now empty punch bowl, red liquid running in rivulets down her hair, into her eyes and all over her dress.

"It's Stephen King's Carrie." Mike Newton shouted with a laugh.

His joke broke the silence and the entire room bust out into guffaws of laughter.

Silently a few of the wait staff hurried over with cleaning supplies and helped a sobbing Jessica and a mortified Lauren off the floor while some stayed back to clean up the mess.

"Okay folks...It ain't a real party until something gets spilled." Damon called out and cued the DJ to begin playing the music again.

Bella gave her brother a look, positive he had something to do with the incident. Judging by his innocent look and Edward's stoic nod at him, she knew he had and apparently Edward had been in on it.

Somehow a rumor began to circulate that Lauren was found with prescription drugs (that were not hers) in her bag and that was the cause of her meltdown.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" Bella asked Edward casually when he took her hand to the dance floor for a slow dance.

"What?" He asked with a lopsided grin as he twirled her expertly and pulled her back into his arms once again.

"Don't play coy with me. You know what."

"You're talking about Lauren's imitation of a Stephen King movie."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Well, duh...thank God it was punch and not pig's blood." She muttered. "So...please explain."

Edward sighed. "Do we _have_ to do this now? Can't I just enjoy the feel of you in my arms?" He tightened his hold on her and swung her into a dip, letting his hand slide up her leg to rest on her upper thigh.

"Hmmm...I suppose given the right incentive..."

With ease, he had her back into a standing position, his lips hovered just over hers. "I'm all about incentive." He whispered, letting his sweet breath mesmerize her.

A few feet away, Angela fanned herself. "I'm getting hot flashes just watching the two of them" She said. "He looks like he's going to eat her up."

"Oh that comes later." Alice said with a grin and a wink.

Angela who had just taken a sip of her mint julep, nearly ended spitting it back out. Ben started to pat her on the back awkwardly, his face completely red.

"You are _so_ bad." Jasper said whispering in Alice's ear.

"That's why I am so good." She teased.

"It's a good thing we have our own cabin, darlin'."

One of the lodge staff walked up to the DJ as he was cueing his next song and handed him a piece of paper. Reading it, he grinned and changed tact, searching his collection for another song.

"Alright guys...I have a long distance request." He started. "Which I gotta say is really strange for a prom but what the hell, right? Okay, here goes...Is there a Bella Swan here?"

Bella's breath hitched. She looked at Edward. His whole body was stiff and his eyes kept darting around the room.

Alice and Jasper looked nervously at each other.

Damon sat up straighter in his bar stool and looked between Bella and the DJ. _What the fuck?_

"Right here." Bella said taking a small step forward.

Edward would not relinquish his hold on her.

The beginnings of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" started to float through the speakers as everyone waited in anticipation for the DJ to continue.

_Every breath you take_

_Every move you make_

_Every bond you break_

_Every step you take_

_I'll be watching you_

The Dj began to read from the small piece of paper in his hand.

"Dearest Bella...Counting the moments until we meet again... Always,Nicky"


	10. Let's Just Have Tonight

Edward stood absolutely rigid as his eyes darted around the room searching for the threat, his arms; an impenetrable protective force field around Bella. He opened his mind further, letting in the thoughts that he had tuned out for much of the evening; scanning for anything that sounded menacing.

_"Who is Nicky? Do we even have a Nicky that goes to Forks?"_

_"Do you believe she wore those shoes?"_

_"I wonder if Jenny's gonna give me some tonight. She better. I paid a lot for that limo."_

_"Holy shit, we're graduating Sunday."_

_"If I lean over just a little, I can see right down her dress."_

_"please ask me to dance, please ask me to dance."_

_"Bella looks so hot. Too bad she's engaged."_

_"He's just so cute."_

_"Just a few drops in the punch. No one will notice."_

_"Sounds like Edward has some competition. Serves him right, the arrogant prick. I wonder who he is."_

_"I wonder if Lauren and Jessica will dare show their faces at graduation."_

The action, which only took a millisecond to complete, produced nothing but the inane chatter he expected.

Alice and Jasper joined the two of them creating a protective circle around Bella, although they tried to make it look like they were swaying with the song.

"Who the hell is Nicky?" Bella wondered out loud glancing at the three of them.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out." Edward kissed her forehead. "Stay with Alice and Jasper. I'll be right back."

Reluctantly, he let her go but she grabbed his arm. He looked dangerous and while this particular look on him was really hot, she knew it didn't bode well for their DJ.

"Please, Edward. Don't be scary. Okay?"

"Bella, I'm just going to…" He stopped when he saw the look of determination on her face and nodded. He wouldn't ruin this night for her for what could just be a tasteless joke perpetrated by the two girls who left the room previously in disgrace. "Okay." He conceded.

"Well, I'm not promising _anything_." Damon said as he brushed past them.

In all due haste, he shoved through the throng of sweaty, dancing, hormonal teenaged bodies en route to the pimply faced college aged DJ. Why did this shit always have to happen at a high school dance event? Wasn't the normal drama that happened at these things enough?

Apparently not, he snorted. Even Hollywood likes to make little horror flicks based around high school dances with naïve, oversexed kids as victims that invariably found themselves headless in a janitors closet somewhere.

Edward caught up to Damon as he bracketed the DJ stand with his hands and leaned over.

"Who gave you the request for Bella Swan?"

The DJ who had not looked up from his laptop screen didn't understand the danger he was in. He held up one finger as he listened to his headphones with one ear.

"Hang out a sec, man. I'm cueing the next song."

"No, _man_. I will not "hang out a sec.'" Damon seethed with no attempt at his usual charm.

"Damon." Edward warned gripping the other vampires arm and shaking his head.

The DJ finally looked up at the two of them and nearly jumped back in his seat. "Whoa! Are you like the chic's boyfriends or something?"

"Listen Keanu."

"Jimmy."

Damon made a face of disgust when the DJ corrected him. "Okay, _Jimmy_. Let's try this again." He pasted on a sickeningly sweet smile that was more sneer than sincere. "Who gave you the request to play the song for Bella Swan?"

"Uh…it was…uh…the hostess." Jimmy said obviously scared out of his mind as he scrambled through items on his table and shoved a piece of The Lodge's stationary at Damon with shaky fingers.

Edward read the note over Damon's shoulder and gave a nod of thanks to Jimmy. "Where's the hostess now?" He asked.

"I think she went back to her post at the front desk."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>Alice and Jasper escorted Bella back to their table where Angela and Ben were still sitting. Bella offered a wan smile to them as she sat down but her attention was never far from what Damon and Edward were doing.<p>

"Sounds like Edward has a bit of competition." Ben grinned; a comment that earned him an elbow in the ribs by Angela.

"Who's Nicky?" Angela asked her.

Bella shrugged. "No clue. I never met anyone by that name."

"Weird." She looked over to where Edward was then back at Bella. "Okay, I _know_ why Edward is upset but Mr. Salvatore looks like he's about to pummel the DJ into the next generation."

Bella cringed. Angela would pick up on that. The trouble was she didn't know how to explain it.

"Mr. Salvatore is a very old friend of Bella's family." Alice chirped in. "Her _mother's_ family." She added.

"But you acted like you never knew him _or_ Stefan for that matter."

"Uh, yeah." Bella picked up the ball and tried to run with it. "We thought it was a good idea to not let it get out...you know how small towns are."

"That is so cool." Angela clapped. "So you've known him a long time huh? Kind of like an older brother?"

"Exactly." Bella smiled at her. That at least wasn't a lie.

"Uh oh, looks like Edward and Mr. Salvatore have left the ballroom." Ben told them.

Bella turned around and only saw the door shutting closed. She wanted to run after them but Alice's firm grasp on her wrist and subtle shake of her head held her in place. She couldn't exactly make a scene.

About five minutes later, they came back. Damon went right to the bar and Edward walked over to the table. His face was still taut and the smile on his face looked forced.

"Dance with me?" He said low into her ear as he took her hand in his.

Bella followed him to the floor; his arms wrapped around her pulling her close as they swayed gently to the rhythm of the song.

"So what's going on?" She asked him.

"We don't know exactly." He whispered in her ear. "The hostess just took a phone message for the request. Damon had her check the caller ID but the number was private. It was a man though."

"That's it?"

"Well, she did say the man had a peculiar accent but she couldn't say what exactly it was. She said it may have been English but wouldn't swear by it. Are you _positive_you don't know anyone by the name of Nicky? From Phoenix maybe?"

"Edward, I already told you I don't." She snapped. "Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to sound so angry."

"It's okay, Bella." He soothed her hair. "We're all on edge. Maybe we should call it a night and go home."

"_What?_ No, Edward. This night was supposed to be normal...my senior prom. You said yourself I'll never have another human one."

"Bella..."

"No. I'll be damned if I let some anonymous practical joke ruin our night. We are going to salvage the rest of the evening starting now."

She excused herself from him, leaving him wondering what the hell she was doing as she gathered her skirts in one hand and stalked to the DJ.

Edward's eyes never left her as he walked back towards the table. Both Alice and Jasper were smirking at him as he sat down.

"You sure ruffled her feathers." Jasper drawled.

Edward made no comment. He wanted to ask Jasper how he could be so calm about all this but there was mixed company at the table.

"It's going to be fine Edward." Alice gave him a steady unblinking look. "I really think all the drama is over for tonight." _Please don't spoil it for her,_ she added silently.

If he could only be as positive as Alice. He knew she hadn't been on her game lately. Hell, they _all_ had been a little off. There were too many variables he couldn't control…many things that could go wrong. He felt suffocated under the weight of the burden and all his insecurities about his ability to protect Bella came rushing back.

Edward's feelings must have shown through on his face because he heard Jasper yelling at him in his head.

_Stop overthinking it, Edward. We're all on top of this._

Letting go of a sigh, Edward watched as Bella walked back over to them with a cat that just ate the canary look on her face. She brushed by Edward, giving his shoulder a caress before she stood by Alice and Jasper.

"Alice, do you mind if I steal your boyfriend for a moment."

"He's all yours Bella, just don't forget to bring him back." Alice responded with a twinkle in her eye.

Bella smiled and turned towards Jasper who stood up and bowed to her. "Ma'am" He quirked his eyebrow with a smirk.

"Mr. Cullen, would you do me the honor and dance with me?"

"Pleasures all mine, darlin'" He chuckled, tipped an imaginary hat and gave Edward a wink.

The first few strains of the Virginia Reel came through the speakers and Jasper could not contain his smile as they walked onto the dance floor. Curious classmates formed a circle around them unfamiliar with the music. But Bella wasn't having it. This dance was for everybody.

"Okay y'all. Everyone line up. Girls on one side, boys on the other."

Bella briefly explained the dance giving a demonstration with Jasper and soon everybody was laughing as they pranced, sashayed and do-si-doed to the DJ's direction calls.

"She's something, isn't she?" Damon said to Edward as they both watched from the sidelines.

Edward nodded. "She really is."

Bella was truly in her element. He hadn't truly glimpsed the southern belle in Bella until now and it was mesmerizing. She had kept much of this side of herself hidden but tonight it was truly out on exhibit. He needed to be a part of it.

Alice must have had the same idea because she pulled him forth into the throng.

Edward caught Bella on a spin and picked her up, swinging around with her in his arms; a genuine smile lighting his features.

"Let's just have tonight, Edward." Bella said breathlessly looking at him through half lowered lashes. "There will be time enough to worry tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Edward led Bella down the lamp lit path past the row of small cabins until they reached the last one. Soft light flickered in the windows creating a ethereal glow around the quaint edifice.<p>

"What's this?" Bella asked clearly confused.

"_This,_" Edward said motioning to the cabin, "is ours for the night."

"Really?" she asked with a smile, starting up the few steps to the front door.

He placed a hand on her arm, turning her around to face him.

"We have not had much privacy lately and I wanted to amend that."

She gasped as he picked her up bridal style and reached to twist the door knob revealing a room that looked like it came from a Laura Ashley catalogue complete with candles placed all around the inside of the room.

"The rest of the night is ours, Bella. No interruptions, no worrying about who overhears us...just us." He said crossing the threshold and placing her gently down back on her feet.

"Oh Edward, it's perfect." Bella awed as she walked around the room taking notice of all the details.

Suddenly nervous, Edward shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched her circumference around the room. "Yes, well, Alice helped set things up." He admitted sheepishly, his glance flicking towards the bed where lingerie was laid out neatly on the floral bedspread.

"She did a good job." Bella nodded, biting her bottom lip as her eyes went towards the lingerie as well. She felt her face start to flush.

"Would you...um...like to take a bath?" He said awkwardly after clearing his throat. "There's a jacuzzi tub and I believe we will both...ah...fit."

"That would be lovely." She smiled at him, loving how shy he was being suddenly; like this was there first time. "But there is something I need for you to do first." She added seductively, playing with the lace at her bustline.

"Anything." He whispered hoarsely, his eyes watching her fingers tease at her dress.

"I need you to help me get out of this thing." She turned her back toward him, pointing at her button fastenings. "I haven't been able to take a deep breath all night."

Needing no further instruction, he blurred right behind her, his hot breath at her neck sending shivers down her spine. Praying he did not rip her dress in his haste, he made quick work of the tiny buttons. Spreading the two halves off her shoulders, he eased the garment down until it pooled at her feet.

His mouth went desert dry when he saw what was underneath the gown. The corset she wore plumped her breasts until they were near overflowing out of the top. His hands came around her, cupping her. In an instant, he spun her to face him. Lowering his head, he brought his lips to her exposed flesh.

"Mine," he murmured.

Bella was thoroughly enjoying his ministrations. Her hands reached out, her fingers curled into the tufts of hair at his nape and yanked.

He bent his head back to look at her through lust glazed black pools and purred deep in his throat. With one last kiss, he was behind her again, undoing the ties of the corset and letting it drop to the floor.

Bella sucked in a deep gust of air. She could breathe again.

"This torture contraption marred your beautiful skin," Edward said with a scowl as his fingers traced the red lines left behind by the corset.

"The price one pays for a good figure, I suppose." Bella shrugged. Her tone was casual but she was glad she would never have to wear the thing again.

"You don't need anything to embellish your body, Bella. You're gorgeous just the way you are." He said as he traced kissed along the indentations on her skin.

"You're my fiance. You have to say that."

Edward stood up to his full height and tilted her chin so she would look at him. "If you heard half of what was thought about you in the minds of those boys tonight..." He shook his head, shaking off the thought and smiled. "So how about that bath?"

Amongst the floating rose petals in the warm water, he ran the sponge over her curves, following it with open mouthed kisses over her wet flesh. She sat in between his legs and leaned back against him when his hand ventured below the surface of the water. She didn't hold back her moan.

Oh, sweet heaven, she thought. Her small hands stroked his marble thighs, gripping him.

"God, Bella. What you do to me." He groaned in her ear before he brought his lips down on the sensitive part of her neck.

Bella's breath hitched in her throat. The sensations thrumming through her whole body were too much. She began to quake in her need.

"Let go Bella. I want to hear you scream for me."

And scream she did.

He got up swiftly unable to wait any longer and picked her up, walking quickly towards the bed and laying her on it. He stared at her watching the water sluicing down the sides of her body and onto the sheets. She looked like a siren of the sea. It took all his will power not to pounce.

"I need you," she whispered reaching up to trail her fingers down his chest.

It was the only invitation he needed. His eyes never left hers. He wanted...no, he _needed_ to see her face every step of the way. He needed to witness the love and the unfiltered desire in her chocolate brown eyes as he claimed her. There were too many unknowns in the future. This was their night.

Her moaning and panting were quickly driving him over the edge. She screamed again in ecstasy and he roared.

* * *

><p>"He was here but as you can see, he is not now." The brunette gave her long waves a toss as she glared up at them through crimson eyes.<p>

Elijah gritted his teeth in barely restrained frustration as he stared at the defiant Hispanic vampire named Maria. She was beautifully exotic looking and downright dangerous. It had taken him and his siblings, days of searching through Texas before finding her in this backwater desert town.

"Do you know where he is?"

"If I did, why should I tell you?"

"He is our brother." Elijah said without elaborating, motioning at his brothers and sister.

Maria threw her head back and laughed heartily.

"You don't believe us?" Rebekah asked insulted.

"Oh I believe you, blonde one." Maria's tone was patronizing causing Rebekah to sneer back. " I just think it's a bit more complicated than that. Now why don't you tell me the truth?"

Elijah was reticent to reveal too much though he had a feeling Maria knew far more than he would have liked. Sensing Maria's strength, his siblings were waiting for a signal from him. If they were fast enough they could kill her but they wouldn't get the information they needed. The worst part was she knew it too.

Elijah sensed that she was a woman without loyalty to anyone but herself. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage. Personally, he had no desire to find Klaus but his family was counting on him to lead the way. He had been without them for so long, he could do no other than honor their request. It was either that or they would locate him on their own and leave a trail of havoc behind them.

Now that they found out Klaus had found a loophole and was a vampire again there was no telling what he would do, what damage he would cause and who would feel his wrath. A few names came to mind and he suddenly felt very ill.

Klaus was a spiteful and vengeful person by nature. He had been even as a human. And there was one person that would be on the top of his proverbial hit list; Isabella Swan. He doubted she would still be in Mystic Falls. Where would she be if she wasn't?

"Is our family's dirty laundry so important to you then that you must have us air it out?" Elijah replied.

Maria shrugged. "I suppose not but it would alleviate some boredom. Things have been quiet here since they left."

_They?_

"Klaus left with someone?" Finn asked angrily "Where?"

Maria chuckled before blurring over to him so shockingly fast he reeled backwards a few steps. "Oh honey, I can chew you up and spit you out so quickly so don't think you can take that tone with me."

"Apologize to the lady." Elijah demanded of his brother. Maria was a figure that demanded respect even if she deserved none.

Finn gave a double take to his brother and was met with Elijah's knowing gaze. He smiled and gave a courtly bow to the cold one. "My apologies Madam. We have searched long and our patience is not at it's prime. I meant no disrespect."

Maria looked absolutely delighted. "Oh, I _like_ you." She said seductively in his ear. "I just may want to keep you."

Rebekah was just about to open her mouth with a nasty retort but Elijah's glare and slight shake of the head made her think better of her plans…for now.

"So someone was with our brother?" Elijah asked casually, hiding the seething emotions that lay beneath the surface.

"Ah Victoria," Maria sighed. "A firecracker that one...right down to the red hair."

"And you know where they have gone?"

"Even if I didn't, it's obvious." She said cryptically.

"How so?"

"Just follow the trail of blood, my friend." She smirked. "A warning though. They are not traveling alone."

"Who else are they with?" Rebekah asked despite Elijah's will to keep her quiet.

"An army." Maria stated simply. "A newborn army."


	11. Common Scents

Forks had one bar…_one_. The Mill Creek. A semi-run down joint filled with the local yokels, a crap selection of liquor and even worse food but it served it's purpose…and right now his purpose was to get well and truly plastered. The watered down drinks and even the bartender's secret stash of tequila did nothing to take the edge off his mood.

Usually Damon chose to frequent a few watering holes in the Port Angeles area when he felt the need for an out and out drinking binge but tonight he wanted to stick close to "home". The cryptic "dedication" from Nicky, whoever the hell that was, kept revolving around in his already convoluted mind. He knew he was close…_way_ too close to his breaking point…the point where he would inevitably do something incredibly stupid…like snap a neck just for shits and giggles. The two annoying girls on the makeshift stage singing like a pair drowning cats in heat might be a good place to start.

The cheap bourbon oozed rather than slid down his throat as he mulled over his options. He really wanted some warm human blood; not the microwavable meal in a bag he was getting from the hospital blood bank.

Nicky? _Who_ the fuck _was_ Nicky?

Only one person (if he could be called that) came to mind and he was dead…well deader than he was already. He _saw_ it happen; saw the corpse turn gray signifying there was no "life" left in his undead body.

It had to be a mind fuck. Someone knew what they did, someone that didn't like it and was seeking revenge.

He couldn't figure out why. Klaus was a mean, manipulative bastard with a very thin veneer of charm. No one liked him.

Dragging his phone from his pocket, he pressed the contact name that he hadn't spoken to in a long time…well long for a human.

"Yeah." The very extremely tired voice on the other end answered after the fifth ring.

"Ric! Buddy! How's it hanging?" Damon forced a jovial tone to his voice.

"_Damon?_ What the hell? It's like 3 in the morning."

"Where _you_ are, maybe. Here it's 12. The bewitching hour, don't you know?"

"Are you _drunk_?"

"Working on it." He said taking another gulp and signaling the bartender for a refill. "So how's my favorite vampire slayer?"

"You're unfucking believable."

"Hmmm, tell me something I don't know."

"It's been months…why are you calling now?"

Damon cringed at a particularly bad high note from one of the chics on the stage. What is it about music, beer and a stage that makes everyone think they're Madonna?

"So there are these two howling cats…" He started.

"Shapeshifters?"

Ahh, that got Ric's attention.

"No just two girls that can't carry a note to save their lives." He smirked. "And it just may cost them that. I'm jonesing for a late night snack and I think they just might fit the bill so I called you."

"What am I? Your blood drinkers anonymous sponsor now?" Ric sighed. "What's _really_ going on Damon?"

"Who said anything is going on? I'm just catching up with an old friend and trying not to fall off the wagon at the same time?"

"Because I know you." Ric said seriously. "It sounds like you're being _pushed_ off the wagon."

Damon briefly went into what was going on in lovely Forks finishing with the message for Bella from "Nicky".

"Shit, Damon. No wonder you're about to sink your teeth into the first annoying co-ed you see. Vampire laundry stealers, newborn armies, a possible Klaus sighting or…err…whatever you call it."

"Yup…forget about up shit's creek without a paddle…I don't _even_ have a boat."

"It's got to be all connected. I mean it can't be coincidence, can it?"

"Doubtful." He sighed. "And it seems Isabella is smack dab in the middle of it…_again_." He shoved his hands through his hair. He hated to admit it but this was even bigger than him, maybe bigger than all of them.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I knew there was a reason I like you." Damon grinned before turning serious again. "But I don't know if there is anything you _can_ do…not unless you have marble piercing stakes. These are cold ones Ric. They don't bleed like me and they're nasty sons of a bitches according to Jasper."

"Let me see what I can come up with and I'll let you know."

"Thank you." Damon said sincerely. "So…how are things in Mystic Falls with Stelena, our favorite super couple?" He cringed as soon as it came out of his mouth. It must be the bourbon talking now. He tried so hard not to think of her…of _them_ and it never worked. She was even in his dreams, for crying out loud.

The other end of the phone went silent for too long for his liking.

"Ric, you didn't fall asleep on me did you?"

"Uh…no…It's just…"

Damon's hackles were raised now. There was something Ric did not want to tell him. Please don't let them be engaged, he thought…or worse, dead. All his good intentions would be for naught then.

"I'm surprised no one told you." Ric said with a sigh.

"Apparently I'm not in the loop anymore." He huffed. "I swear to God, Ric, if you don't…"

"They...um...broke up…uh...last week."

Damon nearly fell off the bar stool. "_What?_ Why?"

"I think it was because of you."

* * *

><p>After Ric dropped his bombshell, Damon wandered the streets, the bourbon bottle he compelled from the bartender dangling between two fingers as he paused, stumbled blindly against a brick wall and took another swig.<p>

Why the fuck did no one tell me? Why didn't _she_ tell me?

Did I mean so little to her now that she couldn't pick up the God damn phone and reach out?

Maybe 'cause you're the one who left leaving only a note and not a backwards glance? He chastised himself.

Had they really broken up because of _me_?

Damon skipped a broken victory dance tempered only by the amount of alcohol in his system.

God, he really wanted to fucking call her; get all the juicy details out of her. Who cared if it was five in the morning on a Saturday there?

Who broke up with whom? Did she cry? Did Stefan?

He snickered. Yeah, Stefi would have definitely shed a few tears.

How long would the break up actually last anyway? Before long one of them would go crawling back to the other and everything would be rainbows and ice cream again.

Did he? Didn't he? He wondered as he scrolled through the contacts on his phone until he got to Elena's smiling face of a picture he had slyly snapped during happier times. Who cared if Stefan had been in the picture? He had cropped him out anyway.

Before he could press the call button, his phone rang.

Unknown caller.

Well, they could freakin' leave a message. He wasn't in the mood.

Sighing dramatically, he blurred off to the Cullen home.

He had alot of thinking to do.

* * *

><p>It was only five in the morning but Elena couldn't sleep anymore. She was too anxious. Her dreams vacillated between Stefan and Damon until they were nightmares of indecision. For days, she had pondered her situation and came up with only one conclusion; she loved them both, but she did not love both them equally.<p>

And it _terrified_ her.

Giving up on trying to go back to dreamland, she tossed her sheet off and padded across the room to her closet, taking clothes off their hangers and placing them neatly into the open suitcase on her floor.

After her shower, she trudged her way down the stairs and smiled softly at the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

"What are _you_ doing up so early?" She asked her aunt.

"The cons of not having a hot date on a Friday night; the inability to sleep in on the weekend."

Elena grinned and clinked her coffee mug to Jenna's. "I'll drink to that."

"So are you ready?" Jenna asked her neice curiously with concern blatant in her eyes.

"Mostly." Elena shrugged, setting her mug on the counter. "Just last minute stuff left to pack, like my toothbrush, hair brush, etcetera."

Jenna had initially balked at her going off to the other side of the country at first but eventually conceded when she realized Bonnie and Caroline would be going to and they would be staying with Bella.

Even though Bella didn't know it yet.

Jenna frowned. "It's good that you're packed but I was actually talking about seeing Damon again."

Elena tensed and feigned nonchalance. "Who said I _had_ to be ready to see Damon again?"

"Oh come on, Elena." Jenna said disbelievingly. "You think I didn't notice that push-pull thing you had going on between you before he left or the way the room sizzled with sexual tension whenever the two of you are in the same one and had everyone wondering will they or won't they? Even though he _is_ incredibly hot..."

"Aunt Jenna!" Elena tried to hide a blush but failed.

"Hey, I have eyes." She smirked taking sip of her coffee. "_Anyway_, even though he is still incredibly hot, he is still dangerous and I don't mean just because he's...well, you know..._what_ he is..."

"A vampire." Elena deadpanned. "You can say it. It's not like it's a derogatory term."

Jenna scrunched her face. "I know. I'd just rather not. So does Damon know you and Stefan broke up?"

Elena's face fell to the floor. "I haven't spoken to Damon in months and I doubt Stefan told him."

"You're in for an interesting trip aren't you?"

"You have no idea."

* * *

><p>Bella woke up with a start, jack knifing into a sitting position; a scream dying in her throat only to be replaced by a whimper. She felt hot and cold at the same time and her attempts to quell her erratic heartbeat and breathing were desperate at best.<p>

She expected to be interrogated about her dream by Edward immediately only to realize he wasn't there. In his vacated place right next to her however was a perfectly scripted note.

_My Love,_

_Do not fret by my absence. I have gone to procure you breakfast in bed. _

_Yours always,_

_Edward_

She would've been touched if she wasn't so panicked. Her nightmare played over in her head until the fragmented pieces began to make sense. And suddenly she knew.

With a renewed burst of anxiety, she draped the bed sheet around herself and jumped off the bed in search of her cell phone. She had to call Alice before Edward returned. He could not know about this yet; it would only serve to heighten his already heightened state of worry.

Last night had only been a momentary reprieve. Unfortunately this morning, reality had a startling way of crashing down once again.

"Alice, it's Bella." She spoke quickly into the phone once Alice picked up.

"I know." She said with a giggle.

"You had a vision?"

"No, caller ID" she deadpanned. "What's going on?"

"Go somewhere no one can here you." She instructed.

"Okay." Alice said a few scant moments later. "Talk."

"I figured it out…_everything_…or at least close to it."

"What do you mean?"

"It's the same! The one who broke in and stole my things, and the new vampires in Seattle. They're together!"

"Why would you think that?" She asked but her mind was already running through the possibilities.

"Remember what we all thought? About someone using the holes in your vision to keep you from seeing the newborns? And then what you said before, about the timing being too perfect-how careful my thief was to make no contact, as if he knew you would see that. I think you were right, Alice, I think he did know. I think he was using those holes, too." Bella spoke frantically. "And what are the odds that two different people not only know enough about you to _do_ that, but also decided to do it at _exactly_ the same time? No way. It's one person. The _same_ one. The one who is making the army is the one who stole my scent."

"You're right. Of course you're right." She said in a hollow tone after a few moments. "Why didn't I _see_ this?" Alice cried out in frustration, ready to pull her hair out.

"It was a test…to see if it would work." Bella whispered half to herself. " If he could get in and out safely as long as he didn't do anything you would be watching out for. Like trying to kill me…And he didn't take my things to prove he'd found me. He stole my scent…he stole it so that others could find me." She visibly shuddered at the words…the thought of a horde of newborns tracking her down was horrifying but infinitely less horrible than her Cullen family being the intended target.

As she processed the fact that someone had created an army of vampires-the army that had gruesomely murdered dozens of people in Seattle-for the express purpose of destroying her, she felt a smidgen of relief.

"Well, everyone can relax. Nobody's trying to exterminate the Cullens after all."

"Well this certainly doesn't change anything…." Alive huffed into the phone sounding angry. "If someone wants to get you, they'll have to go through the rest of us first."

Bella sighed. That's exactly what she didn't want to happen. "Alice, be reasonable. Don't you see, _no one_ has to get hurt."

"And what about you?"

"Of course, I don't _want_ to die but think about the risks. If they come here, looking for me, they could destroy all of Forks and then the Volturi would come crashing down on everyone. That can't happen."

"I don't like where you're going with this Bella." Alice spoke low into the phone; her frustration evident.

"Just give me a little time to think. Don't tell you know who anything. At least not until after graduation."

"I will only promise that only if you promise not to do anything stupid or reckless…and I am pretty sure you know what I mean by that."

Bella could almost see Alice's eyes narrowing at her.

"Yes ma'am." Bella said shutting off the phone.


	12. Unknown Caller

A/N: My sincere apologies for the delay. I know I am horrible but I was sick and then my muse kind of disappeared on me. Here's a shortie but I wanted to post something. Please review so I know you're still out there. Thanks!

* * *

><p>One red, bleary eye opened against the freight train that was currently dividing his skull into jagged edged halves. His mouth felt like someone shoved dirt covered cotton balls in it and the hungry baby-like caterwaul of his phone was driving him slowly insane.<p>

Damon groaned against the sun shining into the floor to ceiling window.

"Fucking weird-ass vampires" He grumbled, flipped over, placing his forearm over his eyes. "and their fucking obsession with living in a glass fishbowl with no curtains."

He should've insisted on some black velvet drapes in this room. _Some_ vampires needed their beauty sleep.

The phone started to ring again. He was debating on throwing it against the wall as he grabbed it from the night stand next to him.

Unknown caller..._again._

He looked at the touch screen. Fifteen missed calls.

Might as well get this over with. He hit the "answer call" button.

"Alright Mr. Unknown...whoever the fuck you are, who are you and why are you bothering me?"

"Well, hello to you too, Damon Salvatore...tell me do you have a phone for purely cosmetic reasons or do you just tend to ignore your calls?"

Damon stiffened as he sat up abruptly. He would know that suave voice anywhere.

"Elijah." He smirked and regretted the action immediately. "To what do I owe the non-pleasure of you call."

He cracked the kinks from his neck as he waited for the answer. The call from Elijah was as unexpected as it was unwelcome. He thought he had disappeared into oblivion and was quite happy to see him go.

"There's a bit of a situation."

Was it his imagination or did the old fart sound a mite scared? Damon felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Describe 'a bit'"

Elijah sighed heavily into the phone.

_That_ was never a good sign.

"Where are you right now or more to the point where is your sister right now?"

"Why?" Damon asked suspiciously. He didn't even want the Original thinking about Isabella, let alone talking about her.

"She's back in Forks, isn't she?"

"Okay, old man. Cut with the cryptic bullshit and say it straight or I am hanging up right now."

"I may have made an error in judgment."

"Oh, gee...why doesn't that surprise me?" Damon bit out sarcastically.

"It's Klaus."

"Klaus is dead." Damon spat in the phone. And good riddance too.

"No, he isn't."

Damon sat up so quickly his head spun. "What do you mean Klaus _isn't_ dead? I saw him die. I watched his putrid flesh turn gray before my eyes."

"No. That was only the first part of the transformation. He became human."

Damon laughed. He couldn't help himself. So it had been Klaus sending a special message to Isabella at the prom but he was human. Easy fix. No super vampie powers needed.

"I'm not finished." Elijah yelled impatiently. "I let him go. I never even dreamed he would find away...he wasn't supposed to be able to..."

"To what? He wasn't supposed to be able to do what?"

"Become a vampire again...a cold one specifically. And he is hell bent on revenge...on Isabella."

* * *

><p>"You can still change your mind you know" Stefan leaned and whispered into Elena's ear as she dug through her purse for her driver's license to show with her ticket at the bag check.<p>

Her back stiffened in response to his words. With lips compressed she kicked her suitcase forward on the line when the person in front of her moved up. Ever since she ran out of the boarding house when they had that last argument over her going to Forks, she refused to take any of his calls…refused to speak with him. Now she didn't have much of a choice.

"You're unbelievable." She said mumbling under her breath, still refusing to face him.

Her, Caroline, Bonnie and Stefan all traveled to the airport together. She suffered through the long brooding looks during the ride but she would be damned if she suffered through them for another five or so hours. She had even convinced Bonnie to swap seats with her since she was originally supposed to sit with Stefan.

They had still been a couple when they booked their trip.

"Why is it so unbelievable that I want to protect you?"

She felt herself softening because deep down she knew that was all he was trying to do but it couldn't erase the words he had said to her. They had cut deep and if she were honest with herself, Stefan hadn't been entirely wrong. She was just a human; easily hurt and just as easily killed.

"It's not unbelievable, Stefan." She conceded. "It's the _way_ you said it. You were cruel and that's not like you at all."

Yes, his words were harsh. He had meant them to be. He wanted her to see that just because she escaped death more than once didn't make her invincible…not even close. She made decisions with her heart and it was one of the things he always loved her for but it was also one of the things that drove him crazy too.

"It's like Damon though…" Stefan said with a whisper. "Tell me, Elena…if he said those things to you, would you be just as unforgiving? Come to think of it, I think not…you forgave him for killing your brother, after all."

Elena squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remain calm. "Can we not do this here?"

Stefan decided to back off…for the moment. It would do no good to incite Elena just because he was feeling on edge. He had spoken the truth though. She had given Damon a pass on so many things in the past but she couldn't forgive him?

* * *

><p>Caroline flopped down on the seat beside Elena, adjusted the air vent over her, stretched as much as she could and let out a sigh before giving her friend a concerned look.<p>

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Elena tried to assure her. "I'll be fine."

She signaled to the seats in front of them reminding Caroline that anything they talked about would be over heard.

Caroline frowned but nodded. Digging into her purse, she found a few clothing receipts and a pen. Elena raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"It's called ingenuity." Caroline quipped. "It's a gift."

She handed the pen and paper to Elena.

"Fine." Elena grumbled and began to write.

_Do you think I forgive Damon too easily?_, she scribbled.

Caroline thought for a moment after she read the question, then smiled and began to write.

_Love means never having to say you're sorry._

"Shit, Care…you're such a cheeseball." Elena giggled.

"I knew I could get you to smile."

Bonnie turned in her seat to face them.

"What's so funny?"

Before they could answer, there was a commotion in the front of the cabin.

"Hold that door!" A voice shouted just as the plane door was about to close.

"Hey guys" Alaric said out of breath as he passed the four stunned teenagers. "Ya didn't think I'd let you have this party without me, did you?"

* * *

><p>Damon had finally reached his wits end. He had tried nine consecutive times to reach Stefan and each damn time he got his stupid voice mail message. He debated calling Elena and opted against it. He wasn't ready to rip open that festering wound just yet.<p>

He pressed the contact button for Bonnie…to ask…yell…reach his fist through the phone and demand why she didn't know about the spell would've turned Klaus human ergo leaving him with the option of turning into a cold one…but she wasn't answering either.

_Mother Fucking Fucker._

He gave the bed a solid kick, sending it careening across the floor and into a wall making a large hole.

Someone was _definitely_ going to notice that.

"Damon? Are you alright?"

Damon spun around to see a very worried looking Esme peering back at him with her butterscotch eyes.

Crap! Damon raked his fingers through his hair and sat on the now broken bed.

The last person he wanted to upset was Esme. She had been nothing but warm to him and even though they were close to the same age in human years, he looked on her as a maternal figure. She took him into her home and treated him like he was a long lost son.

They had spoken of Elena many times when he wasn't able to get to sleep and kept him from carousing the bars in the general vicinity with just one disapproving look. Hell, he's even curbed his language around her when he was used to making no apologies for his behavior.

Now he would have to look at her and tell her the girl she considered a daughter; _his sister,_ was a target for a madman and an even more insane woman and they were bringing a posse of newborns after her.

"How much did you hear?" He asked her.

"Enough." She said softly sitting down next to him. "It's Bella isn't it? They want to kill my daughter."

Damon hung his head because even with Elijah's little band of merry Originals, he didn't know if Klaus could be stopped.

"Yes." He admitted in defeat.

Esme grabbed his hand tightly and looked at him with firm resolve. "Well, we won't let them."

Damon felt the corners of his mouth tilt up at the ferocity in her tone. She was usually so dulcet and calm.

"Damn straight we won't." He agreed.

She got up pulling him with her. "C'mon...we have a family meeting to call."


	13. So Much to PlanSo Much to Do

"I suppose you're wondering why I called you all here." Damon rubbed his hands together and looked at the perplexed group that gathered around him in the Cullen dining room. "I've always wanted to say that." He smirked despite the severity of the situation.

He needed some levity or else he would just go certifiably insane…if he wasn't there already. Unfortunately no one smiled. Tough room, he thought.

It had been easy enough to get them all here once Esme made the calls. He had to hand it to her. Her explanations were vague and she refused to cave with the details until everyone was in one spot.

Now they all were; waiting impatiently. Damon's eyes settled on Isabella and they narrowed. She was steadily biting on her thumb nail down to the skin while darting nervous glances towards Alice and Alice kept her eyes cast downward avoiding Edward's suspicious brow-furrowed stares.

He would be amused if their situation hadn't gone straight to a code red in a matter of hours.

"Can you get to the point?" Rosalie faked a yawn and crossed her legs and began to file her nails.

"Oh, I'm sorry…am I _boring_ you?" Damon turned his glare onto her. "My apologies if life and death situations interfere with your beauty regimen."

Jasper sat up quickly, his intense eyes peering at Damon in curiosity. Just underneath Damon's façade of nonchalance, was a thick layer of near panic. He was impressed that he could hold it in so well.

"What happened?" Jasper asked leaning forward in anticipation. His elbows rested on the glass table, fists clenching causing the veins in his arms where no blood ran to become more defined.

"I received a phone call this morning…err…early afternoon." Damon felt like Columbo about to make the big reveal on who the killer was. "From Elijah."

"Elijah?" Carlisle frowned.

Damon nodded. "You remember; arrogant, pompous, stick up his ass, original vampire."

Carlisle looked at Damon in annoyance. "I remember _who_ he is. I am just perplexed as to why he'd be calling you."

"Well, it wasn't for dating advice…although he could use a few pointers and I do happen to be the best."

Emmett barked out a laugh earning a scowl from Edward.

He was getting tired of this. Ever since he had returned to his and Bella's cabin room with breakfast, he had been slammed with a feeling of cold dread. Bella had been nervous, fidgety and could hardly meet his eyes. She was keeping something from him and no matter how hard he pressed she would say everything was "fine." God, he hated that word…especially when uttered from her lips.

"Fine" never meant fine.

Then Esme called and she was both equally nervous and vague in her request they come to the house as soon as possible.

Now he was being mentally blocked by Esme and Alice, Bella was still acting weird and Damon was stalling.

"Enough!" He snarled, fisting his hands in his hair. "Just say whatever it is you need to say." He added, lowering his voice when Bella jumped at his outburst.

Damon looked around him feeling the gravity of the situation mount on his shoulders. Mentally bracing for impact, he opened his mouth knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable any longer.

"Klaus is alive and on his way here with intent to exact revenge against Isabella."

There...it was kind of like ripping off a band-aid.

"What?" Emmett roared. "How is that possible? Bella killed that fuc…uh…loser." He gave Esme a sheepish look at his near slip.

"Not _exactly._" Damon said shooting a worried look at his sister who had suddenly gone paler than normal. "Her blood killed the vampire in him but not the human…or that's how Elijah explained it anyway."

Edward breathed a sigh of relief. "So he's human then. It shouldn't be a problem taking care of him then."

"Edward." Carlisle chided. "You know I don't condone the killing of humans…no matter how much they may deserve it."

"I wasn't finished." Damon cut in before Edward could argue with him. "I said he _was_ human…I didn't' say he still_ is_."

"And what exactly_ is_ he?" Jasper asked with a hint of menace to his tone.

"A cold one…like you."

Bella shivered feeling an iciness spread throughout her body and a realization came to her. "Nicky." She whispered knowing they could all hear her but unable to speak louder for the constriction in her throat. "He's the one that made the song dedication last night."

Damon winced at the smallness in her voice. "Yes." He said gruffly.

"He's the one building an army of newborns…but how? Who changed him? How could he possibly know what to do? How to get around Alice?" Bella was becoming more frantic with worry as she thought of the possibilities.

"It seems he had a little help." Damon explained.

"_Victoria_" Bella finally said knowing instinctually it was the truth.

Her plan for revenge went south as soon as Katherine involved herself. Then Katherine was killed. Victoria was still out for blood.

Alice drew a sharp intake of breath. Victoria. Of course. That's how they got around her visions. Victoria knew. Victoria, who was still hell-bent on revenge…who knew it would take a vampire army to defeat the Cullens to get to her. Her conversation with Bella this morning made more sense now as she recalled it with perfect memory.

_"Remember what we all thought? About someone using the holes in your vision to keep you from seeing the newborns? And then what you said before, about the timing being too perfect-how careful my thief was to make no contact, as if he knew you would see that. I think you were right, Alice, I think he did know. I think he was using those holes, too." Bella spoke frantically._

_"And what are the odds that two different people not only know enough about you to do that, but also decided to do it at exactly the same time? No way. It's one person. The same one. The one who is making the army is the one who stole my scent."_

_"You're right. Of course you're right." She said in a hollow tone after a few moments. "Why didn't I see this?" Alice cried out in frustration, ready to pull her hair out._

_"It was a test…to see if it would work." Bella whispered. " If he could get in and out safely as long as he didn't do anything you would be watching out for. Like trying to kill me…And he didn't take my things to prove he'd found me. He stole my scent…he stole it so that others could find me….Well, everyone can relax. Nobody's trying to exterminate the Cullens after all."_

Edward's panicked face swung towards Bella before sending an accusing glare to his sister.

"You knew? You knew about this and didn't tell me." He spat out angrily, a phantom pulse beating wildly within him.

"Edward, stop." Bella admonished. "I'm the one who made her promise not to tell you" Bella confessed. "At least until after graduation."

"_Why?"_ He slammed his hand on the table, causing a webbed crack to form under his palm. "Why would you _do_ that?"

He sounded so tortured by her admission, she flinched.

"Because once you knew, the chances of me receiving my diploma in person were nil. You'd try to whisk me away to parts unknown until the threat was over."

"And what is _so_ wrong with trying to protect my future wife?"

"At least _someone_ is thinking clearly." Damon said approvingly.

"You don't deny it, I see" Bella huffed.

"It wouldn't work anyway." Jasper spoke almost to himself before looking solemnly at the others. "They already have her scent, you see. Anywhere you take her, they'll find her."

"We're going to need a bigger boat." Damon mumbled pessimistically.

"You're quoting 'Jaws', _really_?" Rosalie sneered at him.

"It seemed appropriate." He shrugged.

"Damon's right." Jasper said. "We're going to need help. Newborns are strong and even if they are killing each other off as I suspect they might be, we still don't have the numbers to beat them."

"Elijah's coming with his family." Damon said with his lip curled in distaste. He hated to even seek help from the Original but in this case, he'd take it.

"It's not enough. Originals may be strong for your kind Damon, but not ours." Carlisle said with a sigh.

Alice frowned and checked her watch. She hadn't foreseen this conversation and it was messing with her prior plans.

"Are we keeping you from something Alice?" Edward was glaring at her.

She looked up and much to Edward's disbelief, she grinned. "Actually, yes. Emmett give me the keys to your jeep."

Before he even thought about it, Emmett reached into his pocket and tossed her the keys. She plucked them out of the air and was already walking towards the door.

"Hey…" He called out. "Where are you going with my Jeep?"

"Errands." She said vaguely and disappeared out the door.

"Well that's just fucking great." Damon put his hands on his hips. "The only one who could possibly 'see' anything just fucking left."

"I'm sure she had a good reason." Jasper said but he was concerned himself.

"She better…because if she just walked out for a stupid one day sale _anywhere_…she's going to be very fucking sorry."

* * *

><p>The small commuter plane touched down at Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles without much fanfare. Elena had slept most of the way from Dulles to Seattle thanks to Caroline compelling a few glasses of wine for her from the flight attendant. She was itching to get off the plane, her legs having long gone stiff from inactivity.<p>

She was nervous about seeing Damon again, which was another reason Caroline had procured the wine for her.

Would he be happy to see her?

Would he be angry that she came?

What would she say to him? What could she say?

"Elena, baggage claim is this way." Caroline grasped her shoulders and turned her in the opposite direction.

"Oh, right." She responded absently.

"Stop over thinking it." She said.

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Well, I may not have Edward Cullen's mind reading abilities but I know _you_. Now come on, let's catch up to the others."

Alice was already waiting for them, lounging on the baggage carousel. When she saw the group approach, she jumped up and ran over to hug each of them…even Alaric who was a bit thrown by her enthusiasm.

"There's so much to talk about…so much to plan…so much to do." She said pacing, tapping her finger against her bottom lip.

"Can we at least wait until we get the luggage into the car?" Ric said struggling to lift a suitcase into the back of the seat.

"Huh? Oh right, sorry." She apologized "Oh, let me help you with that." She grabbed the suitcase with one hand and tossed it in the car.

Ric shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

"Why Ric? You see me do it all the time." Caroline said with a pout.

"Yeah but you're not like four foot nothing."

"Four feet ten, thank you very much." Alice grinned. "Okay kids, let's move 'em out. There's a lot to explain on the way and I think Bonnie and Ric have a few surprises for us, don't you?" She winked at them.

Bonnie blushed. "I'm not sure…I mean it's just something I thought might work." She stammered.

"What is it Bonnie?" Elena asked curiously.

"She'll demonstrate at the house." Alice said getting into the Jeep and slamming the door. "But I think Ric is going to really amaze us."

"You _do_ realize you freak me out, right?" Ric asked her.

"I'm an acquired taste but you'll grow to love me." She started the car and backed out. "Casa de Cullen here we come."

On the drive back to Forks, Alice filled them in on what was going on and the new developments that happened in the past twenty four hours. The bomb she dropped that Klaus was involved did not go over well at all.

"He's like a bad penny." Caroline miffed. "And who is this Victoria chic?"

Alice scowled at the name. "Victoria is the mate of another vampire that she thinks Edward killed because he went after Bella. So now she wants revenge."

"A mate for a mate." Elena reasoned.

"_Exactly!_" Alice smiled at her through the rearview. "My guess is they will have the newborns attack us and they will try and get to Bella…we can't let that happen, obviously."

"You _guess_?" Stefan asked accusingly. "Don't you _know_?"

Alice frowned. "They haven't made any concrete decisions yet that I can see now that I know what to look for. Victoria knows I have visions of the future and she is trying to work around them."

Stefan didn't like this. There were too many things that could go wrong and now it wasn't just Bella he had to worry about, it was Elena too.

"Once Klaus finds out that Elena is here, he'll want her too." He said.

"That is very likely." Alice said with an apologetic glance at Elena.

* * *

><p>"Oh." Edward sat up straighter with a smile when he heard the humming engine of the Jeep near closer to the house. He judged it to be about a mile away. With everything going on, he hadn't checked to see when Stefan would be arriving. Apparently, Alice did. And Stefan wasn't coming alone.<p>

"Oh?" Damon asked. "Oh what?"

"Alice is returning." He said simply. "And she's brought reinforcements."

"Reinforcements?" Damon questioned. "What did she do...send a Facebook invitation?"

"Something better." Edward just hoped it would be enough.

* * *

><p>When the jeep pulled up the private drive of the Cullen home; everyone but Stefan and Alice gaped at the large three story house with it's floor to ceiling windows and multi car garage nestled neatly in the woods.<p>

"Wow." Bonnie said in wonder staring at the long planks of timber and concrete of the contemporary styled home. "It looks like it's growing right out of the hill."

Elena, while impressed about the house, was far more too conscious of a certain raven haired, ice eyed vampire and the inconsequential amount of space that separated them.

Thousands of miles reduced to mere feet in a matter of hours.

Her eyes darted nervously between the large glass door and her hands twisting in her lap. She was too afraid to even breathe for fear he would be able to recognize it and come charging forth…to pull her to him or push her away, she didn't know.

"Are we all going to just sit here and stare or are we getting out?" Caroline demanded.

Alice looked off into the distance and gave a determined nod.

"We're getting out."


	14. Twilight Confessions

A/N - Plese accept my profound and sincerest apologies on the extreme lateness of this chapter. I got involved with another story of mine that would not release me from its tenderhooks. So without further ado (and as I hide under my desk in absolute shame), here is the next chapter. Please review so I know your're still readng.

* * *

><p>Bella ran past Damon with an uncharacteristic squeal of glee, trying to embrace the four newcomers at the same time and received about as much as of an enthusiastic greeting in return.<p>

It took all of 2. 2 seconds for Damon to process that what he was seeing wasn't some hallucination born from a desperate mind but Elena was actually standing not more than ten feet away looking sexy, defiant and wary all at the same time.

Then reality, dark bitch that she was, slammed into him with all the subtlety of a 2 x 4.

And all hell broke loose.

"Oh, _Hell_ no!" He shouted, blurring over to Elena so fast, he merged with the wind. Elena gasped and took a step back unsure of where he would end up before pasting on her firm resolve.

Deep down she knew it was because he was worried and when he worried he tended to do insane things but she was not going to let him intimidate her, not matter how angry he got.

"Glad to see you too, Damon." Elena tried to put on her best casual voice despite the fact her pulse beat frantically under her heated skin at the mere sight of him. After three months of no Damon, she was on overload, drinking in the full lips now compressed in anger, the feral gleam in his glacier eyes that made her knees go weak, his nearness smelling of moss and rain and just plain essence of Damon as he stood towering over her invading her personal space.

_This_ was the Damon she remembered.

_The_ Damon (if she was completely honest with herself) that she wanted.

"What are you doing here?" His heated gaze bore directly into hers before sending an accusing look towards the others standing with her. He refused to allow even one small inkling of his happiness at seeing her seep into his stare. If he did that, he would lose all his ground.

"Bella's graduating tomorrow…duh." Caroline rolled her eyes and stepped forward refusing to be intimidated by Damon's display of his inner caveman

"Am I going to have to add Valley Girl to your growing list of nicknames, Barbie?" Damon said getting into her face, his nose inches from hers. Caroline wouldn't back off however as she stared at him right back.

"And you, _brother_…" Damon snarled and shouldered past Caroline intent on invading Stefan's personal bubble.

"Damon, stop." Bella tugged on his sleeve. If she were anyone else he would have snatched his arm away and offered a nasty rebuff. Instead he gently but firmly removed her fingers from his arm, begging forgiveness with his eyes. He was on a roll and he wasn't going to stop until he said his piece.

"What _about_ me?" Stefan stood his ground,chin tilted upward, his glaring green eyes daring his brother. He saw no need to defend himself. He tried to stop Elena from coming but in the end there was nothing he could do.

"You really have to ask?" Damon swept his hand towards Elena's direction. "Are you so desperate to get her back you agree to this idiotic decision of hers to fly cross country to an almost certain death."

"He did try to stop me, Damon." Elena took a step toward him.

"Well, he didn't_ fucking_ try hard enough, now did he?" He snapped at her, his eyes never leaving his brother's.

Stefan winced under the verbal attack.

"What would you have done differently, Damon? Huh? Tie her up? Have Bonnie cast a spell to keep her from leaving the house?"

"If they would have worked, hell yes!"

"_Enough_!" Elena shouted before facing Damon. "I'm here. Deal with it!"

"Why don't we all go inside and discuss this rationally." Carlisle stepped forward trying to usher everyone into the house before a melee broke out on the front lawn.

"_Rationally_?" Damon spat. "What about this entire fucked up…sorry Esme…" He nodded slightly in her direction "…situation even _remotely_ resembles rational?...and Jasper if you don't stop doing that empath mojo shit on me, I am_ seriously_ going to lose it." He shot Jasper a glare.

Jasper shrugged and smirked not looking at all apologetic.

"Alright boys, let's get the luggage inside. Girls, come with me into the house. I'm sure you'll want to freshen up after your trip." Esme said rallying the troops like a born general.

The girls followed Esme inside while all the guys with the exception for Damon made a bee line for Emmett's jeep.

"Damn, Ricky, what the hell do you have in here?" Emmett said lifting Ric's luggage easily.

"Be careful with that." Ric warned in near panic. "Sensitive equipment in there."

"Afraid I'm going to drop it?" He teased holding the large suitcase with just one pinky under the handle.

Ric paled. "Don't even joke about it."

No one noticed Damon's retreating form and that was okay with him. He blurred into the surrounding woods . When he first saw Elena standing there, it was all he could do not to rush forward and take her in his arms until the realization of why she was there smacked him upside the head like a cast iron frying pan.

She had thrown herself into the fray again on a totally elena-esque suicide mission. Did she think he would just condone it? And why the hell did Stefan or any of them let her? What pissed him off more than anything else is all the time he took trying to lessen what he felt meant nothing as soon as he laid eyes on her.

In fact, if it were possible, he felt more.

And even though he knew it was the epitome of stupid for her to be here in Forks, a part of him was glad she was.

Damon kicked a boulder sending it flying.

This was not going to end well.

* * *

><p>"Wow." Caroline took an awed panoramic look around once she got to the first floor landing. "I thought the Boarding House was surreal but <em>this<em>…" She walked over to the large floor to ceiling wall of glass. "It's kind of like living in a fish bowl isn't it?"

"The windows are specially treated." Rosalie told her as she flopped on the couch. "No one can see in."

"Rose especially loves _that_ feature." Alice chimed in with a chuckle sitting down next to her "…although she wishes they were soundproofed like the walls."

"What? Oh…_ewww_" Bonnie's face soured as she understood the implications of the statement. "So did not need _that_ visual in my head."

Rose raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Jealous?"

"No." Bonnie said indignantly.

Rose just grinned in response before getting up. "C'mon, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. Oh and don't worry..." She added saucily over her shoulder. "It won't be next to my room."

She had a plan. There was an empty room right next to the one Damon was staying in. That was where she was putting Elena, Bonnie and Caroline. Stefan and Rick could take the room on the opposite end of the hall.

This was bound to be interesting.

Not long later everyone save one was scattered around the living room.

"Shouldn't we wait for Damon?" Bella asked casting furtive glances out the window, looking for the lone form of her brother. She's been worried ever since he took off without word to anyone. Besides her, he was the only one she knew that could get into trouble in a short time span.

"He'll be back soon." Stefan assured her. "Damon can't stand being left out of the action."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Bella muttered.

Elena gave her a knowing and worried look. Although this was Damon's typical knee-jerk response, she was worried too.

"Don't worry." Alice said. "He's sulking in the local bar. He'll be back by nightfall." She gave Elena a pointed look. "Now let's get started, shall we. Bonnie should go first."

All eyes went to the witch and Bonnie felt a little unnerved now that all attention was on her. What if it didn't work? She cleared her throat.

"Well, Damon's not here but I am sure he'd be the first to tell you that he has suffered extreme pain by my hands…or rather my mind." She paused letting her words sink in.

"Explain, please." Jasper said intrigued as he leaned forward in his seat, his eyes alight with unabashed curiosity.

"Well, it might be better if I show rather than tell….Stefan, would you?"

Stefan knew immediately what Bonnie was getting at. He wasn't too thrilled at being part of the demonstration but it was for the greater good after all.

"Just go easy on me." He said stepping into the middle of the room for more space.

Nervously, Bonnie nodded and started to concentrate. Almost immediately, Stefan cried out it pain , grabbed at his skull and sunk to his knees. Bonnie pulled back her power and Stefan stood back up , considerably shaken, paler than normal but no worse for the wear.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Emmett exclaimed.

"Just like Jane." Bella whispered under her breath with a delicate shudder recalling the intense agony Edward underwent when Jane turned her blood red eyes on him.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, love." Edward said, giving her a kiss on her temple before looking over to Bonnie. "But will it work on _our_ kind?"

"There's only one way to find out." She replied, squaring her shoulders. "Any volunteers?"

Emmett, who always looked for any excuse to show off his brawn, raised hand enthusiastically.

"I'll do it."

Bonnie nodded and blew out a breath. "Okay but if it works on you, I want to see how far I can extend it."

"You mean to try it on all of us at the same time?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes…if that's okay."

"Of course." He answered immediately. "If it will help our cause."

"Okay."

Emmett got up flexing his muscles, much to everyone's amusement. "Bring it on sister."

Bonnie shrugged. He looked so smug, she wanted to take him down a notch…and take him down a notch, she did…down to the floor where he was now writhing in pain screaming "It works! It works!"

"Holy fuck!"

Emmett was panting when he got off the floor.

With the exception of Emmett, who felt like he already had enough, Bonnie launched her power on the others and although it was somewhat diluted, it worked on the other vampires, leaving them all writhing on the floor in pain.

"Well, that was certainly enlightening." Carlisle remarked as he slowly got up and held a hand out to Esme to help her up as well.

"Yeah." Jasper agreed. "Never piss off a witch."

"How do you feel, Bonnie?" Elena asked her friend concerned that the use of power may have been too much for her.

"Good…" She nodded. "I'm good."

"Ric." Alice turned to the vampire hunter/history teacher. "Your turn." She smiled encouragingly at him.

Ric cleared his throat and wiped his sweaty palms on the front of his jeans before standing up.

"Yeah…well…I think this demonstration would be safer outside. If someone could just…" He motioned to the large suitcase.

Emmett went to grab it.

"Not you." Ric told him.

Emmett smirked at him good naturedly.

Edward sighed, rolled his eyes and carefully lifted the suitcase. He knew from seeing into Alarics' mind what was inside but Alice was keeping it a secret whether it would work or not. One part of him hoped it did, another part; the survivalist part hopes it didn't. What was in Ric's suitcase could be disastrous for the whole vampire race should word get out.

The metal latches on the hard shell suitcase opened with a resounding click, revealing what looked like some sort of weapon from outer space. Ric gulped nervously as he carefully grasped the the object and pulled it from it's gray foam protective shell.

Emmett chuckled and muffles something that sounded like "Marvin the Martian and P38 space modulator" under his breath.

Ric caught the Bugs Bunny reference and grinned. "Sort of." He replied.

"Is that a gun?" Esme questioned.

"Laser gun." Ric corrected, holding up the dark metal weapon. "You see, I got to thinking…your skin is impenetrable, right?" They all nodded in acquiescence. "Kind of like diamonds, wouldn't you say?"

"In a fashion." Carlisle nodded, starting to catch on.

"Well, this baby here is a _very_ modified version of a laser that gemologists use to cut diamonds. If it works, we will have a weapon that will accurately sever the heads off a number cold ones without even having to get within fifty feet."

Carlisle decided he would be the proverbial guinea pig this time around. This was his family and he was the patriarch. The limb could be reattached after all.

With trepidation, he held out his arm, shirt cuff folded up to the elbow and placed it on the wooden patio table while Ric turned up the power on the laser gun. Esme stood behind Carlisle, one hand on his shoulder and the other tucked nervously under her chin.

The others gathered in a circle around them with collectively baited breath.

Ric gulped. Sweat gathered at his temples and crept down his hairline.

"Ready?" He nodded at Carlisle using the arm of his sleeve to wipe at the moisture on his forhead.

Carlisle gave a grim nod back. "Ready."

"Okay, then. On three. One…" the weapon was carefully aimed at a distance of a foot. "Two…" His hand hovered over the trigger, praying for the best…whatever that was." "Three."

White hot beam of light accompanied by the sound of a dinning buzz shot out from the barrel and with a quick slice, Ric effectually severed Carlisle's hand from the rest of his arm as well as the table he was leaning on.

"That was...effective." Carlisle said solemnly, his face not masking his concern after Esme helped him reattach his hand using her venom to seal the separation. "How many of these do you have?"

"Just the one." Ric admitted once the enthusiasm faded after he realized his prototype actually did work.

"We'll need more." Jasper told them. "At least three."

"Obviously I don't have to tell anyone what damage these weapons can reap if in the wrong hands." Carlisle told them all seriously. "We'll have to be very careful that we are the only ones that know they exist and more importantly, that they work."

His implications were clear.

It was decided that Caroline, Alice and Ric would head up to Seattle so Caroline could compel a few jewelers for the laser materials needed and the others would stay in and strategize the next move.

* * *

><p>The pinks and purples of twilight slashed across the rare cloudless skies creating a mural of intense beauty. Because of the chilliness of the night, Elena wrapped her ivory cardigan around her and sat on the front steps tucking her knees against her chest, staring at the tall tops of the evergreens that seemed to touch the stars.<p>

She exhaled a deep breath and rolled her neck to loosen some of the stiffness there. Whether it was from the long plane ride or the events of the day she didn't know.

A rustle in the grass in the near distance rising above the chatter of the crickets alerted her to another presence. She peered in the darkness until her eyes settled on the figure making his way slowly into the clearing from the shelter of the forest surrounding the house.

She would know him anywhere.

He approached her silently, his ice blue gaze never wavering from hers.

Snarky thoughts about his temper tantrum and his return invaded her mind but were similarly discarded. She didn't want to play these games anymore...these never ended rounds of cat and mouse. She didn't know which was which anymore.

Damon sat down next to her, trying to gage her mood and it frustrated him that he couldn't read her. He was still angry but the simmered anger bore little resemblance to the rage he felt earlier. Maybe it was the cheap bottle of Kentucky Bourbon he consumed or the hours he spent wandering around with said bottle in hand.

"So…" He murmured feeling the rest of the fight leave him replaced by deep resignation.

"So…" Elena responded back just as vaguely.

He sighed, shoulders slumping. Talking to Elena had never been this hard. There were so many elephants between them, he didn't know which one to kick into the fray first, if any at all.

Elena was pondering the exact same thing. There were so many things she wanted to say to him but she couldn't make her mouth move to form the words. Every subject seemed wrought with landmines and she didn't want to set him off again now that he was here.

"Did I miss much?"

"Where were you?"

They spoke simultaneously and laughed nervously.

"I went to a bar then wandered aimlessly. And no, before you ask…I didn't sink my teeth into anyone…human or otherwise."

Elena in turn told him about Bonnie and Ric and what they had come up with to fend off the oncoming attack.

Damon was impressed, not an easy feat to be sure.

"Hmm, maybe we _do_ have a shot." He nodded taking another gulp of the Bourban and passed it to Elena. She saluted him with the bottle and took a long swallow.

Feeling more fortified, Damon decided to have a go at one of those elephants that had been plaguing his mind.

"So…you and Stefan are…" He made a cutting motion across his neck with his forefinger.

Elena rested her cheek on her knees and looked up at him. "Yup" She said popping the "p", feeling the burn of the alcohol starting to warm her body and fuzz her brain.

"Ahhh…" He nodded. "So let me guess…there was yelling, crying and some hot monkey break up sex." He said with a waggle of his brows.

Elena smiled sadly, moving her head so her chin rested on her knees as she stared off into the distance.

"No yelling... some crying and a...goodbye kiss." She said honestly.

"Ugh…" Damon made a disgusted face. "It all sounds so civilized."

"It was." She agreed.

Damon moved a tendril of hair off her face tenderly so he could see her more clearly.

"So what happened?" He asked softly.

"He brought up the subject but we both agreed that ending it would be best."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." She said sitting up straighter.

"So…?"

Elena sighed debating how truthful she should be. Oh what the hell? She had crossed the country to be with him, she could at least be honest about it.

"After everything that happened…" She shook her head. "No, that's a lie. After you left…it was like…I don't know…a piece of me was missing…if that makes any sense."

It did, he wanted to say but he remained silent. He wanted to hear the ehole unfettered explanation. He earned _that_ at least.

"I should've been ecstatic…I mean everything was _over_…Klaus was dead or so we thought, I was safe, Bella was safe, I made my choice…life could move on. But I _wasn't_ ecstatic. I wasn't even _happy_. It wasn't long until everyone around me began to see what I couldn't…or what I refused to see."

Damon felt hope bloom in his chest but tempered it down forcefully.

"And what was that, Elena?"

She was silent for a moment before turning her troubled brown eyes on him.

"I chose wrong."


	15. I Have an Itch Only You Can Scratch

A/N - Okay so because I feel horrible because I have been so lax in updating, I give you this VERY hot bonus chapter. Tissue warning but may not be for the reasons to you think. Please review.

* * *

><p>Damon sucked in a deep, sharp breath at her admission.<p>

_I chose wrong._

The words circled around his alcohol impaired brain, echoing loudly.

_I chose wrong._

He closed his eyes, the deep breath he inhaled blew out in a whoosh, leaving him weak and giddy and filled with trepidation.

_I chose wrong._

He couldn't believe it…_wouldn't_ believe it.

Not until he heard her say that she was choosing him and even then, he didn't know if he could wrap his head around it.

With a trembling hand, he smoothed her hair from the roots down to the strands that were tucked behind ear causing Elena to shiver delicately.

"Just what exactly are you saying?"

Damon needed her to spell it out for him. He wasn't going to assume anything anymore where she was concerned.

Cloaking the sweater tighter to her frame, she stood up and beckoned for him to follow with a nod of her head. This is not a conversation she wants to have two feet from a house filled with vampires, all of whom possess preternatural hearing.

Damon wanted to make some smart ass remark about how she is leading him into the dark to have her way with him. It was his typical modus operandi to use sarcasm to deflect inner turmoil.

But he doesn't.

Whatever this was now, he knew it was a game changer and he wasn't going to fuck it up in all his snarky glory.

There would be plenty of opportunity for monumental fuck ups later.

Elena didn't exactly know where she was going but she figured Damon wouldn't let her traipse towards somewhere dangerous. She was surprised he had held his tongue for this long and knew she had to start speaking soon before his patience ran out.

If she only knew where to start.

Well, the beginning usually works best, she reminded herself wryly.

Elena stopped when she felt they were far enough away from the house but could still see the lights from the huge window in the distance barely illuminating them. She sat on a moss covered fallen log and sighed heavily looking up at Damon as he watched her intently.

"Do you have any more Bourbon left?" She asked him.

"It's usually not a good sign of what's to come when one wants to start a conversation with a shot of booze." He remarked as he handed her the bottle.

"Liquid courage." She shrugged and tilted her head back along with the bottle, letting the dark amber liquid sluice down her throat.

"Okay, Betty Ford. I think that's quite enough."

He snagged the liquor from her and took a slug of his own.

"When Stefan came into my life, he was exactly what I needed."

She started so suddenly, Damon stopped mid chug, choking. Out of everything he expected to hear, it wasn't that.

"If you're going to wax poetic about Stefan and your epic romance, I think we're done here." He snapped getting ready to walk away.

"Would you let me finish?" She came back at him angrily. "I need to do this from the beginning, okay?"

"Fine." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting down on a tree stump across from her. With his accentuated vision he could see the drawn look of her usually succulent as a Georgia peach mouth, the sorrow in her eyes and he softened.

"Being with him after my parents died…well…it was _so_ easy. I could breathe again without the guilt of my parents death weighing on my chest. He made me feel…I don't know…." She shoved her fingers through her hair. "like I _could_ love again. And despite all the vampire craziness, it was an added bonus when I realized t would take a lot for him to die on me...like my parents."

"Then you came along." She smirked. "And suddenly I had all these conflicting feelings. You just made everything…._more_." She emphasized the word when she couldn't find any word in her mental thesaurus to describe it. "I hated you…oh I how I hated you for that…for making me question everything about myself, about my feelings. You could be so caring and so compassionate one minute and within two seconds you could be so cruel." Elena laughed bitterly then. "You snapped my brother's neck, done unspeakable things to everyone I care about…and yet." Her shoulders slump in defeat. "You pushed me, you challenged me… dared me…then told me you loved me and took it all away as if it meant nothing."

"But you chose Stefan!" He shouted, jumping up unable to keep from interrupting to push his point. "After all was said and done and you told me how you felt…about _me_…you chose _him_ anyway!"

"Because I wanted it to be easy again, damn you!" She jumped up after him, getting in his face. After the hell we had been through, I just wanted it to be easy."

"So what changed?"

"You left!" She sobbed. "You left and it _wasn't_ easy anymore. It was like a slow death. I didn't want easy anymore. I just wanted you!"

One step, that was all it took, for him to separate the small space between them and he had her in his arms, his lips on hers in a wild, desperate kiss.

His mouth closed over hers, his body propelling her backwards until her back hit up against the hard bark of a tree. She never noticed. His lips moved insistently over hers, his tongue delving, sucking, laving, relishing in the honeyed sweetness of her.

His hands cupped her ass as he hoisted her upward. Her legs wrapped around him and he was grinding his hips into her pelvis. She moaned into his mouth, shoving her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer to her. She wanted him to devour her.

Damon pulled back suddenly, breathing heavily as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

God, this was hot…_she_ was hot. He could smell the musky scent of her arousal. It killed him to pull away but he had fucked up for so long he was determined to at least do this right and there was nothing right about their first time together happening against an old evergreen.

"Why did you stop?" Elena moaned, chest heaving so hard, Damon could feel her pointed nipples against his shoulder. Her mouth nibbled it's way to his earlobe and she wrapped her lips around it, pulling it in for a slow suck as she tongued the tip.

Unconsciously, he ground his body against her, his cock so hard he felt that he could come right then and there like some untried adolescent copping a feel for the first time in the back of an old Chevy.

He groaned, the sound ripped from his throat. "I'm trying to be good here, princess but you're making it sooo hard."

"Isn't that the point?" She whispered seductively with a smile into his ear and met him thrust for thrust through her clothes. Her panties were so wet, she would swear he could feel it. Deep down she had always known it would be like this. Perhaps that was why she had always been afraid. Loving with this type of reckless abandon was something the old Elena would have done if she had the right partner…if she had Damon. That was the Elena before her parents died…before she had trapped herself into a costume that didn't quite fit her.

Damon's mind just stopped. He couldn't think anymore for the blinding lust, the scent of her, the feel of her. Fuck it. There would be plenty of time for sensual and slow later. Right now his body was aching with need for the one he had been waiting for for far too long.

He made quick work of her jeans, unbuttoning them and hauling them down off her ankles. He shoved the little scrap of her panties aside and plunged his fingers in her slick juices, his the thumb flicking over her clitoris and his fingers slid back and forth over her labia. Her breathless moans and little hitches spurred him on.

"God you are soaking for me aren't you baby girl." He lifted his hand between them, sucking his fingers into his mouth like he was having delectable treat.

Elena let out a primitive moan. Watching him lick her juices off his fingers did something feral to her.

"I want you to taste yourself on my tongue." He said huskily before he brought his mouth down on hers once more.

It was too much. God, it was too much. Could one actually die from pleasure?

With one maneuver, Damon freed himself from the confines of his jeans, his powerful erection jutting up towards his belly. He stroked it once, twice before her yanked down Elena's top and revealed her breast to him. Pulling away from her mouth, he attached himself to her nipples while his cock stroked the insides of her thighs cradling himself in her nether lips.

She was dripping wet all over him, her chest heaving with every breath into his mouth. He was so hot…so aroused…he felt his canines descending and forced them back. It wasn't time yet for that…someday soon but not now.

"Please Damon." Elena cried out trying to position herself over him so she could plunge down over him...finally get him inside her writhing body.

"Please, what, Elena?" he said into the side of her breast.

"Please fuck me."

Those three simple words was all it took. He thrust upward balls deep and thrust and lunged and thrust again. There was nothing sweet about this. This was a claiming…mating in it's most primal form and she loved it.

Her fingers gripped the bunched muscles in his back, fingernails scraping as she tried to pull him closer, her legs clamped harder around him as he pistoned in an out. He was in her so deep she felt him all the way up to her womb.

Elena flexed her inner muscles around him, gripping him like a well oiled gloved.

"Oh God, Lena!" He moaned into her neck, his fangs bursting through gums in unprecedented lust. They wouldn't retract. He couldn't concentrate enough now to make them.

She felt his teeth scrape against her shoulder and the feeling was so erotic she screamed and arched her neck towards him in an open invitation.

He tried to pull away a little but she wouldn't let him. One hand clutched around his skull and held him there. She could feel the sweat dripping from his forehead onto her bare skin.

"Come for me, Lena. Now!"

And she did...screaming loudly as her muscles tensed and let go in a whoosh.

Damon was too caught up in the way her screams of pleasure made him feel, he groaned loudly , teeth sinking into the neck skin of her shoulder and jack knifed into her over and over.

The sensation of him sucking her blood as he pumped her hard pushed Elena over the edge and she was coming again; squeezing like a python around him, milking him for all he was worth as his seed shot inside her.

He tore himself from her shoulder and swiped the bite marks with his tongue, sealing them closed.

"It feels to good to stop." He moaned still continuing to thrust within her. "I never want to stop." He said hoarsely, his body finally losing some of it's steam.

Finally drained, he slid off her and they sunk bonelessly to the ground, both silent with the exception of their harsh breaths breaking the stillness of the night.

"That was..." Elena started.

"...Yeah." Damon finished for her kissing her sweat beaded brow, still unable to believe his luck. It was better than he ever would have expected or believed despite the rustic venue.

Imagine what they could do in a bed. They would set the sheets on fire.

A part of him still couldn't help but feel that this was too good to be true and the proverbial shoe would inevitably come and kick him in the ass.

"So...regrets?" He asked her, feeling uncertain.

"Just one." She said but he could hear the teasing in her voice as she snuggled closer to him.

"Oh, yeah?" He asked with his signature cocked eyebrow.

"Mmmm...I think I have pine needles embedded in my ass."

He let out a bark of laughter. As always, Elena Gilbert always said the unexpected.

"We can't have that can we, Ms. Gilbert. Turn over. Let me take care of those for you."

Gratefully she turned over, fixing her top as she did so.

Comparisons were inevitable, she thought and in this case she couldn't help but make them. Whenever she and Stefan made love, he always treated her reverently, like she was a fragile piece of glass that would shatter and break so easily. His touches were always playful in a gentle sort of way and he always resisted when she begged him to lose control...just once.

Not so with Damon. He made love with wild abandon pushing her to do the same. He stroked the fires until they were an inferno and she wanted to burn. She didn't feel like a fragile human with him and when he bit her...Dear God, it was like nothing she ever felt before. It heightened the pleasure to epic degrees and she was glad he didn't even think about holding back. He made her feel strong..invincible.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked her when he was finished and caught the wicked gleam in her eye and the satisfied kitten that just at the cream smile.

"Isn't that my line?" She teased, easing her body into a sitting position and pulling up her pants.

"I asked you first."

"I was just wondering if it's always like that."

Damon couldn't help but kiss her before answering, sucking lightly on her bottom lip before letting it go slowly. He pressed his forehead against hers.

"No." He admitted honestly. "At least for me, it hasn't."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Oh it's good, princess...very, very good."

* * *

><p>AN - Okay who needs a cold shower?


	16. Infighting and Sleepovers

A/N - Testing 1,2 check. Testing 1, 2 check. Is anyone still out there? Please give a shout out and review if you're inclined. While I may not answer reviews personally, they are ALL appreciated and give me motivation. BTW, the finale ep of Vampire Diaries...key word...Consume. Obviously new revelations and Elena's new vampire status rendered her "choice" null and void. And while I know she will be with Stefan until approx. half the season (maybe less), Ms. Julie Plec hints at a possible change.

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><p>Elena just didn't just feel possessed by Damon, she felt <em>consumed<em> by him. Every fiber of her being was still tingling as they made their walk back to the house after making sure all traces of foliage were gone from her hair, her clothes, her body.

She supposed, deep down, she always knew it would be like this. Perhaps that is why she had fought it for so long. She loved Stefan, she did and probably a part of her always would. He had been her rock and her shelter when she had needed him most; provided a safe cocoon around her when life as she knew it was over.

But _Damon_.

He didn't cocoon or shelter at all. He made her feel alive even in the midst of the death that seemed to surround and stalk them at every turn. He pushed her to go farther then she had ever dreamed...ever dared. She had fallen of the precipice of security and he caught her and showed her how to live despite it.

What she had with Stefan was tepid in comparison.

Damon's hand tightened around hers, his muscles stiffened and when Elena looked up ahead she saw why. Stefan stood outside the house, under the glow of the outdoor lamp, arms crossed over his chest. His brows were furrowed to the point where you could barely see if they were separated at all.

He knew.

And she felt a sudden wave of shame hit her so forcefully she stumbled over her own feet. Damon prevented her fall but let go immediately of her hand, not sure whether or not under his brother's accusatory stare, things with Elena just shot fifty giant steps backward.

Elena, however, surprised him when she made a grab for his hand, giving a reassuring nod. She would _not_ try to erase this. They _will_ move forward.

Stefan's focus zeroed in on the two clasped hands of the woman he loved and his brother. Pain in his heart was so sharp it felt like someone had driven a wooden stake in it.

It was obvious she had made her choice and he wasn't it. He had set her free only to lose her completely. He knew he should wish her the best and try to move on from it the best way he could. He didn't know if he could be that noble, not when a part of him was screaming to not let go just yet; that Damon would inevitably screw up like he always does and he would be there to pick up the pieces.

"So Elena gave me the 411 on Ric's and Bonnie's little surprises. Do you think we have a chance in hell of coming out of this intact?" Damon asked smoothly, not even bother to address the other matter...the one that had Stefan looking like he needed a good dose of ex-lax.

Stefan blinked rapidly at the question in surprise. "Yeah." He said hoarsely with a nod of his head. "I think we have a pretty good shot…as long as we _all_ keep our heads clear."

"Good." Damon said nodding, ignoring the sly little pot shot Stefan tried to zing at him. "That all I needed to know."

He tried to lead Elena past Stefan and into the house but Stefan had other ideas. His hand shot out, grabbing the leather sleeve of Damon's jacket.

"Watch it brother." Damon warned looking at where his brother's hand gripped the material and yanked his arm back. "I may start to think you have hard feelings or something."

"You couldn't wait to take advantage...could you?" Stefan snarled.

"Now wait just a second." Elena cut in. "No one is taking advantage of anybody."

"You're just fooling yourself Elena." Stefan chuckled bitterly. "Now that he's had you, how long do you think the novelty of knowing he got the one up on his little brother wears off and he's back to his old ways, screwing everything in a skirt before he bleeds them dry?"

Elena winced at the crude words. They cut deep because there were a few times she had wondered if Damon was only after her because she was Stefan's, if he indeed love her enough not to stray from her.

Damon hissed and had Stefan pinned against the outside wall of the house by the neck. His fingers cut into Stefan's skin as his rage overpowered him.

"Don't you ever..._EVER_...try to put doubts in her head about how I feel." His words spewed viciousness as he accentuated each syllable with a subsequent slam of Stefan's head against the wall. "You know _nothing_ about how I feel."

Elena was about to jump in the fray regardless if she was no match for either of them when emotions were so heightened when Emmett and Jasper came bursting out of the house. Emmett grappled with Damon pulling him off his brother and Jasper grabbed Stefan, his arms surrounding the struggling vampire.

"Stop!" Jasper hissed. "We have enough trouble headed this way without adding in-fighting into the mix."

* * *

><p>Bella chuckled in the seat beside Edward as he took the familiar roads back to her house. If they went any slower, they'd be going backwards.<p>

Edward grinned at hearing Bella's laugh and squeezed her hand a little tighter, moving it so it rested on his thigh.

"What's so funny?" He asked her curiously. With everything they had pending, it was odd she would be in such a mood as to laugh without obvious cause.

"You're driving like my Grandma Higgenbotham." She replied and Edward nearly choked on his own laughter.

"Maybe that's because between Charlie at your house and everyone else at mine…the only place I seem to get you alone is in my car."

"Or secluded resort cabins." She teased.

"Yes…or secluded resort cabins." He conceded smiling fondly at the memory.

The repugnant stench of werewolf hit Edward as soon as he stepped out of the car. His lips curled and he hissed under his breath as he stared intently at the Swan house. His eyes darted quickly to Charlie's cruiser sitting innocently in the drive way and the fresh tire marks of a smaller vehicle that had been behind it.

"Edward? What's wrong?" Bella said as she got out of the car when all Edward did was just stand there immobile like a statue. In light of all the recent events, she felt herself begin to panic.

Was Charlie hurt or worse was he…? No, she wouldn't even entertain the thought.

"Your father had some visitors." Edward said but his tone sounded stilted and robotic.

"Visitors?" Bella's eyes widened and she was racing towards the door in a dead run until Edward caught her.

"Let me go, Edward." She twisted in his grasp.

"Shh, it's okay, Bella. Charlie's fine."

"Then what….?"

"It was the Blacks." Edward told her knowing only because he could hear Charlie's thoughts from outside the house. "They just left. I was just surprised. They had avoided Charlie for a few months. I didn't expect…"

Edward felt like a fool for letting his guard down. Jacob had barely been a blip on the radar recently and he had foolishly thought that maybe he had given up his fight for Bella. But his sudden appearance mixed with what he could decipher from Charlie's internal musings that was not entirely the case. It seemed Jacob Black was trying a new tact now.

Bella sensed her fiance's inner turmoil and knew he was blaming himself in typical Edward like fashion.

"Hey," She placed her palm on his chest and stood on her toes to give him a light peck on his clenched jaw. "I know what you're thinking and stop it right now."

"Aren't _I_ supposed to be the mind reader?" He queried. He was still tense but he was calming down.

"C'mon." She grabbed his hand. "Let's go see what they wanted."

"Hey, high school grads..." Charlie greeted them when they walked in the house.

"Technically that's not until tomorrow Dad." Bella corrected him. She wondered if he was going to tell her about his visitors or if he was going to keep it a secret.

"Can't a dad be proud?" He huffed. "It seems like just yesterday you were learning to walk and now…you're graduating high school, going away to some big fancy school."

"And getting married." She added in a teasing tone, a twinkle in her eye.

Charlie groaned at that. "You're making an old man out of me, Bells."

Edward dragged in finger across the kitchen table in contemplation, his brows furrowed in deep thought before he turned to Bella's father.

"Charlie, as we were driving up the block, I couldn't help but notice we passed Jacob and his father. Did they stop by?"

The question almost sounded like an innocent query except for the note of bitterness on Edward's tongue. As much as he tried though, he wasn't able to hide it.

Charlie had the grace to look sheepish.

"Yeah," He admitted ruefully. "I was going to mention this later but I guess you caught me. Bells, I kind of invited Billy and Jacob to your graduation tomorrow."

"You _what_?" Bella exploded. "Dad, how could you?"

"He feels awful about how he acted, Bella. You and he, well...you were such good friends and it would be a shame to let a few harsh words get between you."

"It was more than a few harsh words, Charlie." Edward reminded him in a voice that was verbal steel.

Charlie winced. "And like I said, he feels terrible. You've known him and Billy since you were a kid, Bella. He's made mistakes, sure but so have you. In consideration of your history, would it hurt so much to be a little magnanimous?"

Edward growled under his breath. Charlie wouldn't be so forgiving if he knew the whole truth. He saw Bella flinch at Charlie's words and knew he had gotten to her.

"I suppose it's alright. But if he tries _anything_..."

"I'll be the first to kick him to the curb."

Not if I get to him first, Edward thought.

Edward made a show of leaving a little later only to double back to the side of the house, up the tree and into the partially opened window. At least her room was free of the dog's stench.

He laid on the bed waiting for her, pressing one of her pillows up to his face to breathe in the scent of her while he eavesdropped on the conversation she was having with Charlie.

He wasn't listening for very long when his cell phone started to buzz.

"I can't see the ceremony tomorrow!" Alice yelled into the phone causing Edward to cringe. "It's all dark. Why can't I see?"

"Alice, calm down." Edward spoke calmly into the phone, which surprised even him.

"Why are you not freaking out? You _always_ freak out."

"Maybe because I know something you don't." He told her. "Charlie invited Billy and Jacob."

"Sonofabitch!" She shrieked. "As if we didn't have enough to worry about. We almost had a civil war here earlier, you know."

"What do you mean?"

Alice went on to briefly explain what happened between Stefan and Damon and the events that led up to it. He had to say, he saw it coming, even if he didn't have Alice's talents. He did have a line in Elena's mind and one in Stefan's. He just didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Edward decided he wouldn't tell Bella about this. She was worried about enough and didn't need to add worry about her brothers on top of it.

* * *

><p>Bella stalked to the kitchen sink, rolled up her sleeves and turned on the water, attacking the dirty dishes with a vengeance. She was beyond angry still; not only because Charlie had invited the Blacks but with that the entire set of complications that would go with it.<p>

Billy Black was not a stupid man. He would know something was brewing as soon as he spotted her friends from Mystic Falls. His senses would be alerted to the additional vampires and he would begin to ask questions. Jake would undoubtedly figure it out and alert the other wolves.

There had been peace between them all thanks to Sam and Carlisle but who knew how long it would last once he was informed of this new threat. Not only did they have the newborns to worry about but Elijah and his sibling originals clan would be descending upon Forks probably as early as tomorrow night according to Alice.

Tomorrow night, when they were supposed to be partying and celebrating their graduation. Life was supposed to be beginning; they weren't supposed to be preparing for a war that could be the ending.

"Are you still mad?" Charlie asked hesitantly when he shuffled into the kitchen.

"Yes." Bella answered simply. "If I wanted them there, I would have asked them."

"You had two extra tickets since your mom and Phil weren't able to come." He said apologetically. "I figured what harm could come of it."

Of course, Charlie had no idea. They had all been very diligent about keeping any and all supernatural elements from his knowledge. Sometimes she wondered if keeping him in the dark was really the right way to go.

But the image of the Volturi with their malicious crimson eyes came to her thoughts and immediately erased any desire to tell Charlie the truth.

"They were _my_ tickets to give away." Bella reminded him.

Charlie sighed and rubbed his calloused fingers against his jaw. "Do you want me to call them…them not to come?"

Bella shut the water off and turned to face her father; her back leaning against the counter. Was she being too hard on him? Maybe they wouldn't over react…maybe, just maybe their presence didn't have to be a hindrance, it could be a help.

"No." Bella sighed glumly. "It's fine. Just don't extend any other invitations for any other important events…if you know what I mean."

Charlie gave her a small smile, thankful that things were copasetic again. "You got it kiddo."

* * *

><p>"Feel better?" Edward asked when Bella came into her room freshly washed in her sleep cami and yoga pants. He was still stretched out on her bed; an age yellowed copy of James Joyce's The Dubliners, resting on his stomach.<p>

"Marginally." She replied getting into the bed next to him and snuggling close to her side. He wrapped one arm around her as her fingers traced the letters on his t-shirt. "What's with the heavy reading?" She asked pointing at the book. "Aren't we done with that for a while?"

"Says the girl who reads Bronte in her spare time." Edward chuckled. "May I remind you that it was in _your_ book shelf?"

"I tried reading it." She admitted. "I just couldn't get into it."

"That's probably because it was written in the wrong century." He whispered in her ear.

"Perhaps. I'm a nineteenth century gal, after all."

Bella's fingers drifted under and up Edward's shirt and smiled when she heard him suck in a harsh breath. Lightly she caressed his hard skin, marveling in the contours of his muscles. With a groan, his hand trapped hers through the shirt.

"Nineteenth century gal, my behind. You _are_ a vixen." He told her. "And as much as I'd like to finish what you're trying to start, we can't do that here."

"I know." She pouted, withdrawing her hand. "I'm sorry."

"Sleep, my love." He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "You have a long day tomorrow."

"I have too much on my mind. I don't know if I can."

"Will it help if I hum your lullaby?"

"Maybe."

Edward began to hum the beloved tune of his love wanting nothing more than to soothe her worries away. It would have been easier if he didn't have the same concerns. The Blacks were an unnecessary and potentially volatile complication. He didn't think Jacob would pull anything in public but he was not going to let his guard down just in case. The other problem was Alice's visions would be impaired and that right there was deadly.

* * *

><p>Once Emmett and Jasper broke up the fight with Damon and Stefan, things had been beyond tense. Elena had been torn. Not wanting to blatantly flaunt the new dynamic of her relationship with Damon in front of Stefan, with one apologetic look towards Damon she let Alice lead her from the fray of testosterone and into the shelter of her friends.<p>

They had spent the rest of the night giving manicures and pedicures to each other in Alice's room. Bonnie kept casting her disapproving looks and in turn Elena couldn't meet her eyes. Not that she was ashamed. She and Stefan_ had_ broken up forcing her to face herself and her desires and allowing her to finally make the decision that she had been procrastinating.

She hadn't meant to fall into Damon's arms so quickly. It just happened that way. Maybe it was the three month separation, maybe it was the impending threat of death that seemed to stalk them everywhere they went or maybe it was just the overwhelming, near combustible emotions that couldn't be contained in longing glances and witty verbal foreplay. Whatever it was; it was powerful and all-consuming and he undoubtedly felt it too.

Elena couldn't sleep. It was after midnight and she was wide awake staring at the ceiling. Bonnie was across the room, snoring softly and Caroline was in the bed next to hers sleeping like she didn't have a care in the world. There was even a slight smile on her face and Elena wondered what she was dreaming about.

The light on her phone started to blink. Quietly, she reached over to the nightstand to retrieve it, perplexed at who would be texting her. Was it Jeremy? It was only after nine on the east coast but she had spoken with him earlier and he assured her everything was fine. Tyler was being a bit pissy, regretting his decision not to come but that was about it.

She looked at the message and smiled.

_I'm lonely. Wanna have a sleepover ;)_

The words taunted her…excited her…but….

_C'mon you know you want to_

Damon, ever the impatient, she thought. If he could have added an emoticon eyebrow waggle, he probably would have.

_I want to but not sure if it's the best idea :(_

_It's the VERY best idea. He responded back._

She wanted to mention that Stefan was down the hall and she didn't want to upset him more than he already was but she knew it wouldn't go over very well with him. Then she thought of all the times she had been with Stefan and didn't consider Damon's feelings. Could she be any more of a hypocrite?

_I'm coming._ She typed quickly.

_Not yet._ He texted back. _But you will be._

Elena flushed and set her phone down. Carefully, she slid out from under the covers and placed her bare feet on the plush rug.

"Going somewhere?"

Elena jumped, flattening her palm against her chest. Looking behind her she saw Caroline laying down looking at her with a small smirk.

"I was just…" She was about to lie and say she was going to the bathroom but stopped herself. She couldn't lie to Caroline.

"It's okay." Caroline whispered. "I got your back. Just be here before the sun rises."

Elena nodded and mouthed a "thank you". Caroline responded with a thumbs up and a grin.

Damon already had the door partially opened for her. She crept in quietly to see a bare chested Damon with red satin sheets barely covering his legs, leaning back with his hands behind his head and a come hither look in his eyes.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away." He gloated.

"Cocky much?" She replied.

"Oh, I think it's safe to say I am always _cock_-y." He said seductively. "Now come here."

"You are an ass." She smiled and walked towards him.

Elena was two steps away from the bed before he grabbed her and hoisted her over him so she was lying on top. He made quick work of pulling her camisole over her head; her hair falling in a sexy disarray around her shoulders and down her back.

"Now." Damon's eyes roamed over the form in front of him, unable to believe his luck at finally getting the girl. "_This_ is what I call a sleepover."


	17. Pomp and Circumstance

A/N - Sorry, I took too long to update again. Extreme writers block on this fic and total absorption in the two others I am writing are my only excuses. Please drop a line and review if you are still there...

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><p>The day was overcast with a slight breeze and the strains of Pomp and Circumstance as played by the Forks High School Band (sans recent graduates) filled the football field as the graduating class walked as rehearsed to their seats and sat down.<p>

Bella looked around at her classmates, all of whom she would never see again after her wedding and many she would never see after today. Angela caught her eye and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up which she returned with a sad smile. She would perhaps miss Angela the most of all. She had been a true friend since she moved here; one of the few she had met that was truly generous of spirit.

Unlike Jessica Stanley, who was sitting beside her and not up on the makeshift stage preparing to give her Valedictorian speech. As it turned out, when the powers that be recalculated the GPA's, Jessica didn't even make the top ten. Insert karma snicker here, Bella thought. Ben Cheney was the Valedictorian.

She spotted Damon, Stefan and her Mystic Falls friends in the bleachers sitting with Carlisle, Esme, Rose and Emmett. Charlie, Billy and Jacob were thankfully on the opposite end. Charlie looked proud to be there, she noted. His back erect and there was a broad smile on his face. He gave her two big thumbs up when he found her looking at him.

He was so happy this morning, she thought as she recalled the words he said to her as they separated to find their seats.

_"Just imagine in four more years, I'll be in New Hampshire going to your college graduation. You know, Bells, you'll be the first Swan to get a Bachelor's Degree. I can't tell you how proud I am."_

Oh Daddy, she thought sadly as hot tears pricked at her eyelids.

This, right here and now, was the last graduation ceremony he would ever get to see. There would be no graduation from Dartmouth for him to watch; no photographs of them posing happily together with her newly acquired sheepskin, no coming home for breaks, no care packages from home…just a cold marble headstone over an empty grave where he would believe her to be.

Was she making the right decision to do this so soon? Could she hold out a little longer? What if when this brewing battle was over, she could fast track her education and graduate in three years? She'd be twenty one to Edward's seventeen. Four years difference…well for all intents and purposes. Surely she wouldn't look _that_ much older than him and he did appear very mature for his age.

She looked forward and her eyes immediately landed on the back of Edward's head. It was Alice, sitting next to him, who turned around sharply, giving her a concerned look. Edward's gaze followed hers. He must have seen the sad expression on her face because his own brows furrowed.

He mouthed "what's wrong?" but Bella simply shook her head and made a lame attempt at a smile. When she mouthed back, "nothing" he stared at her for a few beats before bending his head to talk to Alice. Bella saw her shrug her shoulders and was thankful Alice was going to keep quiet.

Principal Tanner tapped on the microphone causing a high pitched, ear piercing sound to escape from the speakers. There was a collective groan from the crowd and the Principal gave an abashed smile before he began to speak.

"Welcome graduating class of 2011, family and friends." He sighed, gripped the podium and looked out among the audience. "For the past four years, I have watched you grow from awkward freshmen to more self-assured seniors…"

Blah, blah, blah, Damon thought as he half listened to the droning, barely rising above monotone speech as he scanned the crowd; ever alert for a security breech.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked sensing his tense demeanor.

"Nothing." He shook his head and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "If this guy quotes Dr. Seuss one more time, I won't be responsible for my actions."

Elena covered a giggle with her hand. "Damon." She admonished lightly with a playful tilt of her lips, giving him a swat on the arm. "Behave."

His fingers danced a trail up the length of her thigh until they met with the cotton fabric of her short skirt. "Behave? Are you sure?" He smirked when he heard her breath hitch as his fingers dipped underneath the fabric, itching higher. "You didn't want me to last night."

Elena flushed knowing Stefan could probably hear every word. She did not want to rub whatever she had with Damon in his face but Damon, it seemed, had other less noble ideas.

"Enough, Damon." She inclined her head toward Stefan, who sat next to Caroline staring straight forward with his jaw clenched tight.

Damon's lips compressed into a thin line. He made a move to withdraw his hand from her leg but Elena brought her own over it and held it there.

"Please don't be mad." She pleaded.

"I'm not mad."

She cocked an eyebrow at him, telling him without any words that she didn't believe him. He was too stiff, his jaw too tense and his eyes too narrowed for him to be anything but angry.

"Okay." He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Maybe just a _little_ mad. I mean why should I care if he gets one more line across his forehead? It already looks like a topographical map. Not to mention…but I will anyway, cause that's how I roll...he's been flaunting his relationship with you in front of my face for the past two years."

"So you want payback, is that it?"

"No." He shook his head and sighed. "I want..." He shoved a hand through his black hair and blew out a breath thick with frustration and stole a look at Stefan, who was obviously listening to their exchange. "Look, let's bank this conversation for later. I don't want to do this with an audience."

Elena frowned but nodded in agreement, her fingers tightening around Damon's hand in silent communication as they turned their attention back to the ceremony.

Ben Cheney cleared his throat as he approached the microphone, a stack of index cards in his subtly trembling fingers and looked out into the faces of his peers.

"I should've conferred with Principal Tanner about the speeches." He said with a smile. "He used up all the good Dr. Seuss quotes."

Everyone chuckled as he made a great show of going through the stack of index cards, callously tossing them around him to the floor as he shook his head.

"It's okay, we'll get the Freshman to pick those up later." Ben joked before placing his empty hands on either side of the podium. "Or not." He added at the principal's exaggerated stern look.

"Wow…graduation day. We made it." He said with an embellished slump of relief. "How many of you are sitting here right now thinking 'gee, that went by really fast.'?" Many of the graduating students raised their hands. "Me too. Not when freshman year started though, remember that? Man, that year dragged. We were at the bottom of the totem pole again.

The years grew shorter though, didn't they? And before we knew it we were taking our SAT's and sending out college applications, going on our first car dates and many us even worked part time and got a taste of what it was like to actually have money in our pockets we didn't have to beg our parents for. Speaking of which, they are all so proud of us right now, it would be a really good time to hit them up for some dough…

But seriously…we spent our whole lives preparing for this moment…this one moment where we can say I did it and throw these ugly square caps in the air with an exuberant shout of joy. So now what? What on earth do we do now? After the celebratory dinners and the parties, reality is going to set in. Some of us already have it mapped out or at least think we do, go to college, get married...not necessarily in that order...the rest of us..."

Edward was only listening with half an ear to Ben's speech. His main focus of concentration was Alice's thoughts, which she was blocking and had been since they had settled into their seats. Something was bothering her though…immensely…something she refused to share.

He was worried about Bella too. He may not be able to read her thoughts but he knew her body language and facial expressions. Something was wrong.

"What's going on?" He murmured too low for the humans around them to hear.

_Ben is doing a wonderful job, don't you think, considering he was only informed last week he was actually the Valedictorian._

"Alice…" He growled a low warning only to have Jasper give him a glare and a subtle warning of his own.

Edward did not like being kept in the dark, in fact, he hated it. Used to being able to delve into the recesses of someone's mind, hearing their thoughts, he relied on his gift far too much.

"Stop sulking."

"I'm not sulking." He denied through gritted teeth.

"Yes. You are."

Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to the podium. Ben was finishing his speech, thanking the parents, teachers, et cetera. He clapped automatically with everyone else, turning briefly to look at Bella as he did so.

Managing to catch her eye again, he smiled and gave her a two fingered wave. She smiled back it him but it was the kind of smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Yes, something was definitely wrong.

* * *

><p>The sky was momentarily filled with graduation caps as everyone shouted and threw them up in the air with reckless abandon. Bella wasn't sure if the one that landed by her feet was even hers but she scooped it up anyway. Esme had told her to save it…that she was going to add it to the group of caps they already had framed on the stairway wall.<p>

She saw Edward making his way towards her, pushing none too gently through the crowd; a fake smile on his face and a stark look in his eyes. He was stopped several times by other students on his way to get to her and she could feel his annoyance yards away.

From the opposite direction, her dad was attempting to shoulder through the throng of other parents making their way onto the football field. She felt like she was being hemmed in on both sides.

It was Edward that reached her first. With his hands automatically surrounding the span of her waist, he brought his lips down to meet hers. His kiss was anxious and riddled with something desperate.

Bella should've known he would be able to detect something was off with her. She kissed him back with equal fervor, feeling guilty for her earlier thoughts. Wasn't she the one who had constantly and consistently tried to reason with him and even begged him to change her? How could she tell him she was having second thoughts about becoming a vampire so soon?

The wedding was less than two months away and they had already been discussing how they could plan their disappearance so soon after.

"What's wrong?" He asked her huskily when he finally pulled back from the kiss.

She shook her head. "I..."

"Congratulations, kiddo." Charlie reached them, swooping Bella into a hug. "I am so proud of you."

With one arm still around Bella, Charlie stuck his hand out to Edward who automatically shook it.

"Congratulations, Edward. I'm sure your parents are very proud as well"

"Yes, sir, they are." He said awkwardly.

He wanted to get Bella alone to talk to her but at the moment that was impossible. She kept giving him odd looks; her teeth scraping against her bottom lip in a manner that while familiar was disconcerting.

It was a look that usually preceded something he didn't want to hear.

"Are you coming with us?" Charlie asked him; his body language intimating that he rather he didn't.

"Actually, no. I'm going out with my family and then we have to set up for the graduation party we're hosting."

"Your parents will be home for that?"

"Of course."

Charlie nodded. "Good, good."

"Um...dad...there are a few other people I want to say hello to before we go." Bella said as she gently maneuvered herself from his arm.

"Sure...uh…Billy and Jacob want to congratulate you too."

"Oh" Bella's face fell. This was going to be awkward. She hadn't seen Jacob for a while and she worried over his motives for being here today. Were he and his pack able to detect the threat of visitors on the horizon?

"I'll come with you." Edward told her.

He knew Charlie didn't think it was a good idea. Even if he couldn't hear his thoughts, his hand nervously rubbing at the back of his neck was a good indication.

Damon, Elena, Stefan, Caroline and Bonnie made their way down from the bleachers to find Bella in the crowd. Damon spotted her first and grabbing Elena's hand they all winded through the sea of graduation gowns, turning heads as they went.

Many students stopped and greeted Damon as "Mr. Salvatore" which had Elena giggling in her free hand. She never saw Damon in his teacher persona and it was actually quite cute. He turned to her with a wicked smile on his face, pulling her closer so he could whisper hotly in her ear.

"Is something amusing you, Miss Gilbert? Would you like to share your thoughts with the rest of the class or perhaps I can arrange for some private tutelage?"

Elena felt like she was blushing down to her toes.

"I _may_ need some extra-help." She said deciding to play along.

"Mmmm...later." He promised, nipping at her ear with a growl.

* * *

><p>Bella soon found herself surrounded, trying to grapple for an explanation to Charlie how she knew Bonnie, Elena and Caroline since they all greeted her so exuberantly since it was something they never discussed.<p>

It was Stefan that saved her by saying they were his friends from Virginia and she knew them through him via email. Charlie looked a little dubious at first but didn't question it.

Jake wheeled Billy up to them with a too bright smile on his face that didn't quite reach his brown eyes. Everyone but Charlie eyed the duo warily but Jacob's only focus was Bella. Bella watched him cautiously not missing how his Adam's apple bobbed uncomfortably in his throat.

"Thank you for coming, Jacob…Billy." She addressed them stiffly and formally, not knowing how to act. She was hyperaware of Edward's tense body next to her and Damon and Stefan's rigid stance.

"Congratulations, Bella."

Ignoring the stares he was getting, he wrapped Bella in a consuming hug.

Suck it, leech, he thought in his head and chuckled when he heard the slight growls around him.

Bella had no idea how to react. Her arms hung limply at her sides until she realized he wasn't going to let go until she gave in to it. She briefly put her arms around him and gave him several soft pats on the back.

"Thank you."

"Reinforcements, Bella?" He whispered in annoyance.

"Do I need them?" She asked tensely.

He stiffened and pulled away.

"No, not today."

Her shoulders slumped in relief.

Damon was at the ready to go regardless who was around if wolf boy tried anything. He didn't like the way his arms held Isabella a little too long nor the way she stiffened, repelled by his touch. If Wolfman Jake was going to start anything, he was more than ready to finish it.

"_That's_ Jacob?" Caroline said in a hushed whisper to Stefan.

Stefan gave a stiff nod, never taking his eyes off the shapeshifter.

"He's totally hot."

"He's a total tool." Damon told her, rolling his eyes. "What is it with you and wolves anyway, Blondie?"

Jacob's eyes sharply turned to him and Damon gave him a challenging one-sided smirk.

Bring it wolfie, he thought.

But Jake wasn't paying attention to him anymore. His focus was trapped elsewhere.

"Well, I'm going to bring the car around." Charlie said completely oblivious. "I'll meet you out front in a few minutes, Bells. The Lodge okay with you?"

"Uh...sure Dad. I'm just going to say goodbye to my friends."

She watched Charlie lumber away back through the crowd, wheeling Billy as he did so and turned to the others who were all suddenly very quiet.

Edward was chuckling under his breath as he watched Jake, who had the most dumbstruck look of reverence she had ever seen on his face.

Curious, she followed where his eyes were focused and gasped when she saw they were deadlocked.

"Oh _crap_."


	18. Chapter 18

A/N - Yes, it has been a long time and apologize for the wait. Good news is the next chapter is already half complete. Now, withour further adieu...

* * *

><p>"Jacob's imprinted." Edward announced out loud with wry amusement, blatant relief and partial awe. He could literally see it the way Jacob saw it in his mind; the thousands of thick bands of light stretching and reaching like vines, wrapping around her in a lover's embrace.<p>

"Oh, hell no!" Bonnie exclaimed. She didn't know exactly what imprinting was but it didn't sound at all appealing. The wolf boy was staring at her in a way that was making all her internal alarms sound and just made her feel downright icky.

Damon didn't even bother to cover his laugh, and laugh he did, uproariously. He couldn't have planned a better payback himself. Ain't karma a bitch or in this case a wolf.

"What's an imprint?" Caroline whispered to Bella, who stood slack-jawed next to Edward.

"Um...he's...ah...Bonnie is-"

"The one." Jacob finished Bella's sentence with a reverent whisper.

"When a wolf imprints," Edward explained. "It means he has found his mate. Wolves, like vampires of my kind, mate for life."

Bonnie stiffened. The words "mate for life" twisted and turned through her head making her dizzy. It sounded like a prison sentence. This was insane. She was a Bennett witch for crying out loud. She didn't "mate" and certainly not with someone who transformed into a four-legged animal.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

* * *

><p>"Is he still out there?" Bonnie asked Alice.<p>

She was tiptoeing around the Cullen home, avoiding passing by the windows as they set up the house for the graduation party.

Alice peeked out the window and grimaced.

"Yup. Still there," she said over her shoulder and let the blinds fall back into place. "Looking like a long lost puppy. I really wish he would leave. I have to set up the outside lights, not to mention I am flying by the seat of my pants over here. I can't see anything with him blocking my visions."

"Can't you make him go?"

"I could. If he didn't have his brethren with him watching his back. However, you could. He'll listen to you." Alice gave her a hopeful look.

Bonnie shivered. "Yeah, I think I'll pass on that."

"C'mon, Bonnie, take one for the team," Damon taunted her. "I'll even give you a leash so you could take the dog for a walk."

She shot him a death glare before turning back to Alice. "Just out of curiosity, how far away does he need to be?"

"Antarctica would be a good start but I'd settle for their side of the boundary line."

"Oh, this is just ridiculous," Rosalie said in disgust and swung open the front door, marching outside.

"What is she doing?" Jasper asked coming into the room, arms filled with party streamers.

"Starting a war," Alice huffed. "And not those streamers, Jazz. Those are for the bridal shower."

Rose stormed rather than walked to the lovelorn puppy dog, ignoring the series of low growls that came from the woods around the house. The wolves edged closer as she closed the gap between her and Jacob.

"Tell them to back their hinds up. This is Cullen land. You are in violation of the treaty."

"Back up guys," Jacob ordered, never taking his eyes off the blonde leech.

"You too, pup."

"I can't."

"Of course you can. It doesn't even require much coordination and I promise it won't tax your pea-sized brain."

"_She's_ in there."

The way he said it made Rose want to stick her finger down her throat and gag. What was it with this guy...shifter…whatever? Didn't he know when to give up?

"And _you_ are making her miserable."

"I am?"

Apparently, he was obtuse too.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Look, I'm sure she'll come around...eventually." Rose crossed her fingers behind her back. "But you gotta give a girl some time to get used to the idea that she's suddenly become the sole focus of a mating wolf man. It was bad enough you were lolling your tongue out over Bella but Bonnie is a different breed. She's a witch. She'll gut you with a twitch of her nose. So stand down."

Rosalie wasn't exactly sure Bonnie could gut him, well at least not without some complicated foreign worded spells but it looked like the boy beast was getting the idea.

"Fine," Jacob said, flexing his fists. "But I won't be far."

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe Alice, of all people forgot about the Sternos for the food," Bella said with a bemused shake of her head as Edward started the car and pulled out of the parking lot of the local party store.<p>

"She didn't," Edward confessed. "It was her way of giving us some privacy."

She raised a mischievous brow and nudged closer to him, letting her hand settle suggestively on his thigh. "Oh, yeah?"

He slanted his head away, evading her kiss.

"To talk," he clarified, glancing at her even as his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

Feeling rejected, she sat back in her seat.

"Talk," she mumbled, disgruntled. "About what?"

"I don't know. You tell me. Alice wasn't very specific."

Was it possible Alice "saw" her grappling with her decision to change so soon?

Probably.

Crap.

"Oh."

"So, there _is_ something."

"It's not important right now." It wasn't. With everything happening, she wasn't about to burden him with this too especially when she was still undecided.

Her eyes widened in shock when he quickly pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road and cut the engine. He turned to her, jaw taut and eyes determined.

"Edward, what-"

"Don't do this –Please. I want…" He shook his head, editing himself. "No, I _need_ to know what is going on inside your head, no matter what it is. You always tell me not to shut you out. I want the same from you."

"You had to play that card, didn't you?"

He gave her a small, closed-lipped smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm not opposed to using what I can."

Bella thought for a long while, fully aware that Edward's eyes never left her. She could feel them boring two holes into her, making her squirm from the scrutiny. She couldn't look at him though, not without him seeing her guilt. Instead her eyes focused on her hands twisting together in her lap as she tried to find the right words.

"Charlie said something to me this morning that made me think, or more accurately, _rethink_ certain things."

"What did he say?" He tried to keep his tone casual but he didn't think he managed it quite well. Was she having second thoughts about getting married? About him? Their future? Is that why Alice was so evasive?

Bella turned to him and cursed the sad expression she knew was on her face. "He told me how excited he was that in another four years, he'd see me get my Bachelor's Degree - that I would be the first Swan to graduate college. Then…when we went to The Lodge for lunch today, he was just so…" She waved her hands around looking for the right words."...so _proud_. He was bragging to everyone that would listen how his little girl was going to an Ivy League school. It made me feel like a phony…a selfish phony."

Edward nodded in understanding, feeling the panic subside to be replaced by something else. Absently, he stroked her cheek, urging her silently to continue.

"And I started to think about how there would be no college graduation for him to see, no parents' weekends to attend. He'll have none of that joy because -" Her lip started to tremble and her throat burned with the threat of tears. "-because as far as he'll know, I'll be dead. I don't know if I can take that away from him, Edward." She looked at him to gage his reaction but he showed none, not one clue to how he was taking this. "So, I began to think what if – _what if_ I went to Dartmouth as a human, _what if_ I fast tracked and got my diploma in three years? Changed then. I mean, both Charlie and Renee look young for their age, chances are I will too. But we have all these plans and I-"

Edward's mouth crashed over hers, plunging, teasing, tasting as his hands thread into her hair. When he finally pulled away, Bella bowed her head, feeling worse than ever. The kiss had felt more like desperation than desire. She hurt him and she didn't know if she could take it back or if he would let her.

"I'm sorry," she started, blinking back tears. "I know-"

"You just made me so happy."

"Wait – _what_?" Bella sputtered, her watery gaze shooting to his. "I am…confused. You're not mad?"

"Mad?" He shook his head slowly with a broadening smile. "Oh, Bella, don't you see? I _want_ you to experience all that human life can offer. I've _always_ wanted that. You don't know how thrilled I am to hear you want that too, at least for a little while longer."

"But I've spent the better part of two years nagging you to change me as soon as possible, whining about it even and when you finally want it too, I go and change my mind and you're not the least beat angry…not even a little bit?"

"Let's get one thing straight, first of all. I've _always_ wanted you forever. I just wanted what was best for you, more. And secondly, how can I possibly be angry at such a selfless act; one of the very traits that made me fall in love with you in the first place?"

"Well, when you say it like that. So, you're really okay with this?"

"More than okay." He gave her a quick kiss and turned the key in the ignition until the car purred back to life. "Now let's go back home. We have our graduation party to attend."

* * *

><p>The Cullens sure knew how to throw a shindig, Damon thought as he roamed around the house with a tequila bottle in his hand searching for Elena. Ric, his wing man, conveniently disappeared to go test his guns - ha, ha - and left him to wander about aimlessly, dodging through co-ed bodies. By the looks of the guests, no one would guess they had the threat of the vampire apocalypse breathing down their backs.<p>

The food wasn't too bad either. He shrugged, popping a caviar canapé in his mouth. A little too shi-shi-foo-foo for his tastes and for everyone else's judging by the disgruntled looks on the kids' faces. They were probably looking for the cocktail wienies and the Buffalo wings.

Thank God, he'd only have to deal with the YA equivalent to General Hospital for a few more hours. According to Alice, once Wolfman Jake and his tribe of merry mutts backed off, she had a vision that Elijah and the rest of the Brady Bunch vamps were set to make their grand entrance not long after the clock struck midnight. Which, was so cliché, he would laugh if they weren't waiting around like sacrificial lambs going to slaughter.

Speaking of sacrificial lambs...

Ahh, there was his quarry; chatting it up with his little sister, which had his curiosity piqued and his brow raised. Whatever they were discussing was serious. This never boded well.

Damon shouldered past the crowd of freshly minted grads, cringing at every pat on the back and "Hey Mr. Sal". God, how he hated that nick-name. He'd be glad to shed it once this party was over. Isabella caught his eye and she immediately clammed up signaling to Elena.

The hairs on the back of his neck went up.

What the hell were they up to?

"So which plan of self-sacrificing martyrdom did we decide on, hmmm?" he asked, circling Elena's waist with his arm and pulling her against him. He still wanted to finish the conversation they started earlier but whatever was going on here seemed more pressing. "Is it the one where we run out in the middle of the fray yelling 'Here I am, come and get me' or the one where we sneak out in the middle of the night, right into the arms of danger?"

Elena snorted; a habit she obviously picked up from Isabella. "How about none of the above?"

"Oh, come now. It _has_ to be something. What else would you two be talking about that would cause you to clam up tighter than a virgin closes her legs on prom night?"

"You're an ass."

"But, I'm your ass, kitten," he said as he nuzzled her neck, breathing in her perfumed scent. "Now, tell me, what have you two been yapping about. Be honest," He added with a finger wag.

"We were talking about girl things," Bella told him, the look in her eyes daring him to call her a liar.

"Girl things?" He cocked his brow. "Do you want to be a little more descriptive?"

"No, we don't." Bella gave him a sweet smile through gritted teeth. "Unless you want to hear about how Edward and I-"

"Okay, TMI," Damon said, covering his ears.

Bella smirked. "Thought so."

"If you don't mind, I'm going to steal Elena away for a bit," he said as he began to back away with Elena still in his arms.

He felt her stiffen and shift away from him as they went past Stefan; his brooding countenance and narrowed eyes giving evidence to his less than positive opinion about their relationship.

Nothing new there. However, Elena's reaction, her wanting to sneak around like they were doing something wrong was starting to royally piss him off.

Good thing then, his plan was talking to her about that very thing.

"Okay, you stole me, now what do you plan on doing with me?" Elena asked suggestively as she backed up against Carlisle's Mercedes when they finally made it into the privacy of the garage.

"We're going to do something else with our tongues. We're going to talk."

"Talk?" Her mouth gaped open.

Yeah, it sounded odd coming out of his mouth too. But he fucked up too many things in his life and this relationship, if that is what they could call it, wasn't going to be one of them. No, he was going to do things right. That meant communicating his...ugh...feelings. Okay, it was official. He was complete emo dork. What was next? Watching Lifetime movies and making mixed tapes?

"Yeah." He thoughtfully scratched his jaw. "It kind of surprises me too."

"Okay then." Elena let her hands drop against her thighs. "What do you want to talk about?"

Now that the floor was his and the proverbial spotlight hung over his head, Damon found himself struggling to find the words to begin. He shoved his hand through his hair and placed the other on his hip. Sounds of laughter and music drifted towards them from the house reminding him, invading their bubble, making him antsy.

"I want to know where we stand…with each other." It was such a girlie line, it made him inwardly cringe but he couldn't help it.

"Where we stand?" Her brows puckered in confusion. "I thought we cleared that up yesterday. I stand with you...if that's still what you want."

"If that's what I-" He let out a frustrated growl. "_Of course_, that's what I want."

"Then, I don't understand."

Damon leaned in closer, his hands coming to rest on the car on either side of her so she was trapped by his arms.

His face was so close to hers now, nearly nose to nose, he could feel her breath fanning his face and see the confusion in her eyes.

"If you stand with me then stand _with_ me...don't treat me like your dirty little secret the minute Stefan turns his puppy dog eyes our way."

"I just don't want to hurt him anymore than I have already."

"What about me, 'Lena?" He thumped his hand hard against his chest causing her to flinch. "The both of you certainly didn't give a damn when you went at the mattress mambo and quite loudly too, if I might add, when you knew how I felt about you. Why does Stefan get the special kid glove treatment?"

"I feel guilty," she admitted. "He doesn't deserve this, Damon, to have it shoved down his throat at every opportunity by you…like you're gloating…like you won the grand prize and want to shove it in his face."

Damon winced. Okay, he could see her point. A little. He _was_ gloating…just a tad. But hey, turnabout was fair play and why was he being accused here? Stefan certainly did his share of gloating, of shoving his relationship with Elena in his face. Why should he get off so easily?

"Oh and _I_ _did_ deserve it when it was done to me?"

"That's not what I-"

"I get it now." Damon nodded to himself, pushing his hands off the car and backing away from her.

"What?" she asked, panicked. "What do you get?"

He snapped his gaze to hers, deliberating; assessing what he was seeing there. A constriction the size of an egg lodged in his throat and his mind was screaming at him that ignorance was bliss but he still had to ask.

"Tell me, Princess, who broke up with who?"

"It was mutual, Damon. You know that already."

"You only said he brought up the 'subject' but who said the _words_ first?"

"Stefan. But-"

"I thought so." His lips thinned to a scowl and he nodded once trying to keep his calm. You know 'Lena," he added; his voice bitter and dark. "I used to think I'd be happy to take whatever scraps I could get from you but as it turns out, I deserve more than being the consolation prize."

He turned to stalk away but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"You listen to me, Damon Salvatore," Elena said, her chest heaving in anger. "Stefan may have spoken the _words_ first but that doesn't mean you are second choice. I went to the boarding house that day with the full intention of letting him go…to choose you. He just beat me at saying it. That is all." She took a deep breath and continued. "I love _you_. I chose _you_. But for some reason you still think this is a competition. I'm just trying to make this awkward situation easier for everybody. I'm sorry you can't see it that way."

With that, she shouldered past him back into the house.


	19. Truth and Consequences

**A/N - Good News! Until and Twilight of My Redemption are up for a Burning Diamond Award in 8 categories. To vote for me or any other of the wonderful authors nominated, please go to crossoverawards . blogspot . com (just remove the spaces). Voting is now until 12/29**.

* * *

><p>Damon reared his hand back ready to use his fist as a jackhammer against the window of Emmett's jeep. The sound of hands clapping together behind him had him pivoting around with wild eyes. He slowly lowered his fist when he saw Ric approaching him with a smirk on his lips and censure in his eyes.<p>

"Bravo, bravo. That was a brilliantly executed fuck up, if I do say so myself."

"Eavesdropping is so below you, Ric."

"Hey." Ric held his hands up, palms out. "I was here, minding my own business working on the lasers. You were the one that invaded my little corner of peace."

"I'll just get out of your hair then."

Damon shouldered past him, bristling as he did so. He didn't need an audience right now. What he needed was to sink his teeth into...no, bad idea, Salvatore. Isabella would have your head if you took out your anger on her friends and Elena, well...

"Sit down, Damon." The tone in Ric's voice brooked no argument and while miffed to the point of causing his body to stiffen, Damon was too shocked by the command to do anything but obey it.

"You know you have that same look in your eye that Esme gets when she's going to chastise me on my profanity."

Ric smiled just enough to make him nervous before he reached into a blue cooler and pulled out a beer bottle dripping with ice water. Twisting off the cap, he handed it over to the barely holding it together vampire before him.

"Forks has a brewery?" Damon questioned, looking at the label on the bottle. "How did I not know that?"

"Avoiding, much?" Ric opened his own beer and took a long swallow. "And it's not half bad."

"Which, could also be interpreted as it's not half good either. Should I be suspicious as to why you are plying me with alcohol?"

"You need to calm yourself down, for one, before you go taking off and doing something you will regret." Damon snorted and rolled his eyes. Ric knew him too well. "And two, I want to tell you about what Elena and Stefan's relationship has really been like over the past few months."

"You know, Buffy," Damon said getting up. "If you wanted to torture me, you could have just stuck me with a vervain soaked stake. What makes you the expert on all things Stelena anyway?"

"Aside, from the fact that I have eyeballs and pay attention especially to people I see every day?"

Damon flinched at his words, a reminder that he had taken off to lick his wounds while Ric stayed. "Yeah, aside from that?"

"Will you just shut up and listen to what I have to say?"

"Fine." He sat back down, taking a long pull of his beer and grimaced. "Talk."

"You're not the consolation prize," he said, looking Damon in the eye. "Their relationship ended the minute you walked out that door."

"Yeah? Where's the bridge you want to sell me? Nope." He shook his head. "I'm not buying it. She made her choice to be with Steffie just days before I made mine to leave."

"And that's when it all fell apart. I swear, Damon, it was like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion and being powerless to stop it. Their relationship became awkward and strained. Stefan was trying too hard to pretend nothing was wrong and Elena, well she may have been with him physically – " Damon couldn't help but flinch at the mental image that conjured up "- but mentally? Emotionally? She was with you."

"So why is she all 'let's not kiss in front of poor Stefan'?"

Ric laughed much to Damon's dismay. "_Seriously_, dude? It's because she's Elena. If she didn't feel remorse and guilt, she would be Katherine."

* * *

><p>"Here we go," Caroline announced as she cheerfully plunked down three tequila shots in front of them; one for Elena, one for Bella and one for herself. "So tell us, Elena, what did Damon do now?"<p>

Caroline felt it her duty to do some cheering up ever since she saw Elena literally stomp back into the party after disappearing with Damon. She had commandeered Bella from Edward's passionate grasp and grabbed Elena from the pit of anger and despair. Bonnie had disappeared with Jacob for God knew what reason but she decided Bonnie was too bias against Damon to offer an objective opinion anyway. After swiping a bottle of Patron and three shot glasses from the bar, she led them up to Alice's room.

Elena sighed and tossed the shot back. "He's being Damon," she told them as she wiped the corners of her mouth.

"A little specifics might be nice."

"He's pissed because I am not acting like the lovey-dovey, PDA giving girlfriend with him in front of Stefan. He thinks I'm treating him like a dirty little secret."

"He's right," Caroline and Bella said simultaneously.

"He's right?"

Caroline gave her friend a sympathetic look. She knew what Elena was trying to do. It was what Elena was always trying to do; fix things, mend riffs, make things right, try to make everyone get along even if that meant sacrificing her own happiness. She couldn't do that, not this time. It was only making things worse.

"Don't you see, Elena? Damon's not pissed. He's _hurt_. He doesn't understand why what was good enough for him isn't good enough for Stefan…why you are so afraid of hurting Stefan when you weren't afraid of hurting Damon."

"Stefan's different. He's more sensitive. Damon, well, he…he doesn't get hurt as easily." But even as she was saying the words, they rang false in her ears.

"You're wrong." Bella said, pouring herself another shot. "It's Damon that feels more deeply, gets cut quicker. He just knows how to hide it better. He's had years of practice."

"Besides," Caroline smiled softly. "Stefan may physically be seventeen but he is a lot older. He's a big boy. He'll get over it. But right now, with you acting all guilty and sneaking around, you're hurting Damon much more than you are hurting Stefan."

"And," Bella added. "Their relationship will mend if I have anything to say about it. You can't fix them, Elena. One of them was always going to get hurt, no matter how much you tried to make it easier. Trust me, I know. I've been in your shoes."

"Speaking of Jacob," Caroline grinned. "Do you know he actually got Bonnie to speak with him?"

* * *

><p>Bonnie nervously flitted with the hem of her shirt, her eyes darting around in the darkness, completely aware they had an audience. A very furry audience, but an audience nonetheless. She didn't even know what compelled her out here. Maybe it was the look in his eyes when he begged her for just a little time to talk. Maybe it was the fact that he was just so big, he gave off a protective vibe and knew he wouldn't hurt her despite how he felt about her friends. Or maybe it was because he was really hot and not in a body temperature kind of way...although he was that too. She could feel the heat emanating from him; thick waves of it wrapping around her.<p>

Jacob shoved his hands in his front pockets and leaned back on the heels of his feet. "You're a witch, huh?"

"Yup."

"I've never met a witch before."

"I've never met an American Indian that shape-shifted into a wolf before," Bonnie countered with a smirk.

"Yeah." He let out a nervous chuckle. "We don't advertise much."

"Neither do we."

Awkward silence stretched like a deep chasm between them. Bonnie wanted to go back inside but there was an odd pul keeping her rooted to where she was. Giving in momentarily to it, she sat down on a fallen log and stretched her legs before her. She watched Jake do the same, the length of his legs beside her dwarfing her own. Leaning her head back, she looked to the night sky and the stars that twinkled in the distance, wishing for answers.

"So, can you do anything cool?" Jacob's voice broke the quiet.

She let her mind wander back in time a few months thinking back on the night she set the woods alight in a circle of fire letting loose a massive phoenix made of flame and ice. "Yeah, I suppose I can," she said with a smile. "Do you want to see?"

"Sure, show me what you got."

"Okay, make a fist and hold it out."

When Jake held out his arm, showing his large fist, Bonnie took it between both her small hands. An electric current sizzled through her causing her to gasp and let go. She looked at him wide-eyed for just a moment before steeling her resolve and touched him again.

Again, she felt it go through her but she hung on. It was like nothing she ever felt before. Did he feel it too?

Nevermind, she shook her head and concentrated on the simple spell.

"Eitilt saor in aisce o ceann amháin le sciatháin." She looked up at Jake and slowly let go of his hands. "You can open your fist now."

He unclenched his hand slowly and a bright blue and yellow butterfly escaped his hand and fluttered around his head before it flew off into the forest.

"Oh my God, that was amazing."

"You should see what I can do with fire. So," she said glancing up at him, wanting to attempt to broach the giant elephant in the room, so to speak. "This imprinting thing – how does it work? 'Cause from where I'm standing it sound like I have a big footprint on my forehead only you can see."

"It's hard to define." He blew out a breath. "Imprinting is like an unbreakable bond is formed between two people. I have no control over it. It just happens."

"Unbreakable, huh?" Bonnie didn't like the sound of that at all. "What exactly does that mean for me?"

"Anything you want it to." He shrugged. "I'll be there in whatever capacity you need me to be; protector, friend, confidant and eventually, hopefully – more."

"And what if I never feel that way back?"

"Not gonna happen," he joked with confidence before his smile turned serious. "My only goals are that you are safe and happy."

"Those two aren't exactly mutually exclusive in my world."

"It could be if you didn't hang out with vampires," he scowled.

"The world isn't as black and white as you think it is, Jacob. Some of those vampires are my friends."

For a moment, Bonnie had imagined her Grams was rolling around in her grave. She couldn't put a finger on when exactly her attitude had changed only that it did.

"But you're a witch."

"So? I've also known Caroline since the cradle. Being a vampire doesn't change who she is deep inside. Are you telling me that if Bella became a vampire tomorrow, you would kill her because some ancient law said you were supposed to?"

"I don't – "

"Well, you better figure it out soon. A war is coming. You're going to have to figure out whose side you're going to be standing on."

"Yours. I'll be standing on yours."

* * *

><p>"God, I thought they would never leave," Alice said, leaning back against the closed front door after she sent the last guest off with their party favor.<p>

"Like cats," Bella giggled, drunkenly weaving to the couch and pushing aside a plate with half-eaten cake so she could sit down. "Feed them and they never leave. I almost had a cat once but Renee wouldn't let me keep him…he was too frisky…umm, speaking of frisky," she giggled. "Where's Edward?"

"Oh boy." Rose gave an exaggerated eye-roll. "Okay, Bella, time to go to bed."

"Not yet, later." But moments later her eyes drooped shut and her mouth slacked open.

"Yeah, she's down for the count," Alice mused.

"I'll bring her up," Stefan told them, needing to do something useful. Carlisle, Edward, Jasper and Emmett went to catch up to Elijah before the wolves could get to them and who knew where Damon had disappeared to?

Gently he lifted her up; watching her head loll to the side off his shoulder and carried her up the stairs. A sense of nostalgia overcame him. It had been years since he had done this. She was always a small little thing and despite only a two year age difference, he had often delegated himself to carrying her up the stairs when she would end up falling asleep in the family library.

He would often catch her, curled up on the chaise in front of the fire, fast asleep with a book in her lap. It happened often when Damon was in the service.

Laying her down on the bed, he pulled the covers over her. Knowing he couldn't shield her completely from what was to come even if he desperately wanted to, he prayed she would at least stay asleep for the rest of the night.

With a kiss to her forehead, he was about to leave her room when he heard Elena's voice in the hallway, down by Damon's door.

"Hey, can we talk?"

Peeking out the door, he saw Damon open his door wider and shut it as soon as Elena walked into the room.

Stefan's fingers curled around the wood molding of the doorframe as he rested his head against it. The pain of knowing what was going to happen in Damon's room was bone-crushing.

Why didn't he fight for her? For them?

Why did he just let her go?

He blurred down the stairs and out the front door not knowing where he was going just knowing he needed to put as much distance between him and the house as possible before he did something he would regret.

As he ghosted through the trees, he became aware of the sound of distant voices and the steady flow of a nearby river. He veered off in their direction, the voices becoming more distinct the closer he became. Peering around a large birch he saw them; The Cullens and Elijah with his siblings surrounded by members of the wolf pack.


	20. Rules and Regulations

Elijah shifted from one foot to the other, trying to keep from darting his eyes towards the perimeter around him, to the low growls and rustles he heard just beyond the trees surrounding them. Instead, he stayed focused on the Cold Ones; mostly on Carlisle, the vampire he knew to be the patriarch of this coven. His brothers and sister stood behind him, wary and ready to strike. The only cold ones they knew were The Volturi, who were nothing more than brutal beasts under a thin veneer of civility and refinement.

"It seems you've been expecting us," Elijah said, cocking his brow. "Then you must already know we have a shared problem that must be taken care of."

"We do," Carlisle agreed. "and we are willing to put aside any differences providing you can comply with some guidelines."

"Guidelines?" Kol snorted. "You do not control us."

"Quiet!" Elijah reprimanded his brother. "Our fight is not with the Cullens." He turned his attention back to Carlisle. "We will respect your 'guidelines'. But before we start with those, tell me, how you managed to make allies with the wolves."

"Amazing things can occur when one is fighting for a common cause. Are you certain you are up to the task? You will be fighting your brother."

"Klaus ceased to be my brother long ago."

"And the rest of your family?"

"Have just as much if not more cause to see him stopped."

Edward wasn't so sure. The female seemed to be reticent to the task. Even though he couldn't read past the barrier she had put up to shield him, he saw her lids lower and her lips tremble slightly when Carlisle asked.

"What about you?" he addressed her. "Are you willing to kill Klaus?"

Her surprised eyes shot to his. "Yes – of, course." Her tone suggested she was offended but she had hesitated just a fraction too long for him to be comfortable. She definitely bore watching.

As they walked towards the house, Carlisle explained that there would be no feeding off anyone in the area. They would have to make do with the blood bags procured for them in anticipation of their arrival. This was non negotiable. He also explained that there would be training sessions headed by Jasper, who had experience in fighting newborns and would defer to him. There would be no room for rogue behavior. In order for their plans to work, they must act as a seamless team.

"Do you agree with these terms?" Carlisle asked as they reached the front door of the house.

Elijah gave a cursory look at his siblings, looking for any hint of discourse among them before turning his attention back to Carlisle.

"We do."

Carlisle gave a relieved smile. "Good. Then you are all welcome inside. I am sure you would like to freshen up after your long journey. My wife, Esme, will see that your comforts are taken care of. We will convene in the morning to discuss our strategies."

* * *

><p>His adam's apple worked furiously in his throat as he watched her walk into the room; her footsteps as tentative as he felt. His gaze never strayed from her, taking note of the unstructured movements of her hands as they swiped nervously at her hair.<p>

Damon cleared his throat into his fist. "You wanted to talk."

Elena's hands stilled and dropped to her sides. Her brown gaze focused on him, wary at first until he saw determination take hold. "I'm sorry."

He let out a deep sigh and sat on the bed. "Me too."

"You?" She cocked her head at him, confused. "What for?"

"For being pissy and jealous."

"Damon-"

"Wait a second, Princess. Let me get this out, okay?"

"Okay."

"You're Elena." He smiled when her lips quirked upward in amusement. "You're compassionate, sympathetic, you care about others. That's the Elena I fell in love with. Because of my own - insecurities -" His mouth twisted at the repulsive word. Jesus, this sharing emotions shit was difficult. "I let myself forget that and wanted you to act like someone you're not."

Like Katherine, he thought to himself, disgusted that Ric had to point that out to him.

Elena sat down next to him, twining her fingers with his, and placed them on her lap.

"You were right, Damon."

His eyes widened, regarding her with surprise. This was a first.

"I was?"

"You were." She nodded. "This is us, it's real and it's scary but hiding it because I don't want to hurt Stefan's feelings is hurting _you_. I don't want you to hurt anymore because of me. I've done enough of that to you already."

"You have to admit it _is_ weird though."

"Me being with you after recently breaking up with your brother?"

"No. You apologizing. I have to say, you looking so contrite, it's kinda hot."

She rolled her eyes and grinned. "You're an ass."

"I know." He smirked, waggling his eyebrows.

"So am I forgiven?"

"Mmm." He stared at her lips. "Maybe. We should come up with some guidelines first though."

"Guidelines?"

"Yup. For instance, can I do this in front of Stefan?" He caressed her cheek with the pads of his fingers and smiled when he heard her breath hitch.

"I don't think that will be a problem," she said in a breathless whisper.

"What about this?" Damon's lips followed his fingers, trailing down her jawline.

"Nothing wrong with that."

"And this?"

He nuzzled the sensitive spot under her ear, down her neck, his lips gliding over her carotid artery, his tongue flicking out to lick it.

"Oh, yes."

"Compromise is good isn't it?"

"Mmmm, very."

Elena moaned softly at the delicious things he was doing to her with his tongue and his mouth. She felt his hand at the underside of her breast, kneading softly; a welcome lover's touch.

"Would this be acceptable?"

His mouth covered hers, possessive and devouring as he pushed her back on the bed and hovered over her. In once swift move, he grasped both of her hands in his on either side of her head as he continued to plunder her mouth, grinding himself between her cradling legs.

Elena gave herself up to all of it, all thoughts of Stefan very far from her mind.

* * *

><p>Now that the Originals were seen to, Edward felt the pressing need to find Bella. It didn't take him long to follow her scent mixed with quite a bit of tequila to his room. He smiled ruefully when he opened the door. She was on her stomach, snoring softly with the tiniest bit of drool gathered at the corner of her partially open mouth.<p>

Closing the door quietly behind him, he moved quietly to the bed and laid down next to her, smoothing the hair back from her face.

One more full day, if Alice's iffy predictions were correct. That was all they had left before Klaus, Victoria and their newborn army would descend on them and Forks. There was still so much to do, so many plans to make but all he wanted right now was to be right here, with Bella. Just one night of peace even if she was barely aware of it.

His hand skated down her arm, lingering on the place where her elbow rested by her hip. She snuggled towards him with an indecipherable mumble that made him smile and hold her closer.

It was these unguarded moments that meant the most to him; where he could see the essence of her untainted by worry or fear. They had been through so much, both together and apart, this past year. His instinct was to wrap her up and carry her away from all of this, but he knew he couldn't. Not only would she not allow it but she was Klaus and Victoria's endgame. They would destroy her, no matter where she was.

As much as he wanted to end them, his main priority was here in his arms. He would protect her and keep her safe, alive, no matter the cost.

Bella moaned, her brow puckering in her sleep, pulling Edward from his thoughts.

"Shh," he whispered kissing her temple in an attempt to soothe whatever dreams fractured her sleep.

Her eyes blinked sleepily and she gave him a goofy lopsided smile. "Mmm, you're here," she said, tracing her finger down his jawline.

"I am." He smiled down at her. "You should go back to sleep. You're still tired."

Drunk, is more like it, she thought feeling the pasty texture of her mouth with her tongue. And horny, come to think of it.

She giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." She shook her head.

"Tell me. Please."

"I'm horny." She laughed again. Saying it out loud felt so lewd.

Edward coughed out a chuckle. "And that amuses you?"

"Kind of." She shrugged before rolling over and turning to fully face him, her hand caressing his arm. "So-" She looked up at him. "do you wanna do something about it?"

"You're still inebriated, my love. I shouldn't take unfair advantage."

"Yes." Feeling more bold, Bella pressed open mouthed on his neck as she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. "You should."

"Bella-"

"Take advantage of me, Edward. Now, while you still can."

He clenched his eyes shut, burying his hand in her hair as she kissed her way down his body. His own responded. His hips surged unconsciously upward when her deft little hands found him, caressing him through his jeans. He wanted to tell her to stop when he heard the teeth of his zipper descend and the button on his jeans pop open but he couldn't find the will.

Her mouth and tongue were hot upon his cold, rigid flesh. Mindless, he gave himself up and over to the pleasure she elicited in him, the desperate longing he couldn't contain around her.

Who was taking advantage of who, he wondered briefly, moaning low and deep when she sucked him in, laving him, loving him.

"Stop," he whispered.

She looked up at him, confusion marring her passion-glazed eyes.

"Why?"

He sat up and leaned over her. "So I can do this."

His mouth possessed hers as he moved over her, pushing himself against the juncture her thighs, rubbing against her provocatively. He smiled into her mouth when he heard her moan. This was so much better.

He took her that night, slowly, tenderly, leaving no part of her untouched, no part of her unloved. He wanted to savor every dip, every curve, every angle of her, committing it to perfect memory. This was their time and he was going to make it count.

In the morning, Bella woke up to a splitting migraine and a perfectly scripted note on her pillow from Edward informing her that he had taken Stefan out hunting. She grimaced as she moved and wanted to do nothing more than lay in bed.

"Wakey! Wakey! Eggs and bakey!" Damon's voice rang out as he barged into her room.

Bella groaned, sinking further under the covers and pulled the pillow over her head.

"Not funny, Damon," she said, her voice coming out muffled from under all the bedding.

Bella felt the mattress dip next to her. Peeking out from under the pillow, she saw Damon peering down at her with a knowing smirk and a large red plastic cup in his hand reminiscent of the ones she had been guzzling from the night before.

"What's that?"

"Your hangover cure."

She sat up and took the cup from him. He placed two pills in her other hand. Sniffing the contents, she pulled back slightly repelled.

"I'm not drinking that until you tell me what it is."

"It's a Bloody Mary. Go ahead, drink it."

She took a sip, her face puckering. "There's alcohol in this - a lot of alcohol."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Ever heard the old expression 'hair of the dog' and all that?"

"Yeah but this tastes like it's more than the hair. It tastes like it's the dog."

"Just drink it." His eyes narrowed. "All of it. The quicker you do, the easier it goes down."

"If you say so." She shrugged. Popping the pills in her mouth, she chased them down with the Bloody Mary, cringing as she did so. "If this makes me throw up, I will kill you," she said when she was done and handed him the cup back.

"You won't throw it up. I promise."

"I remember you saying the same thing before you let me try one of Guiseppe's cigars - right before I yuked all over the carpet."

Damon let out a brief chuckle. "Well, if I recall correctly, I also told you not to inhale."

* * *

><p>Bella did feel better. She wasn't sure if that was due to the shower she just took or the "hair of the dog" remedy Damon made her drink but she felt strangely energized. She was thankful for it, now that she found herself face to face with Elijah and his siblings; the other Originals.<p>

The Cullen house was full of vampires now.

She hoped the peace held until what they needed to do was done.

The hope didn't last that long.

Rose and Elijah's sister were already staring at each other like they wanted to rip each other's throats out and Emmett was throwing his most menacing looks at the other two brothers.

Brilliant, Bella thought, we'll be lucky if we don't kill ourselves before Klaus and Victoria get here.

"Isabella, it is a pleasure to see you again," Elijah greeted her. "Such a shame it has to be under these circumstances."

She really didn't know how to respond. It really wasn't a pleasure to see him again under any circumstances but she supposed she should be gracious. Their assistance was vital.

"You too, Elijah. As far as the circumstances, fortunately, I've learned to adapt to life and death situations."

"And admirably too."

"So, this is the infamous Isabella," the strange blonde girl tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked down at her with an expression Bella interpreted as part amusement and part scorn. She bristled immediately. "My brother has done nothing but sing your praises - for miles."

"Huh, he's never mentioned you at all." Bella couldn't hold back the dig. There was something about her she didn't like, a look in her eye that reminded her of Katherine in a way. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Rebekah," she said through clenched teeth.

"It's nice to meet you Becky," Bella said with a wide, friendly smile.

With that parting shot, Bella pivoted and walked into the kitchen, her only aim to get a cup of coffee.

"She doesn't like to be called Becky," an amused voice said from behind her.

Bella turned to face the new speaker. He had an air about him that exuded arrogance and entitlement but he didn't look as formidable as the other taller brother she didn't know.

"Who are you?"

"Kol Mikaelson." He bowed. "At your service. And don't mind Rebekah. She's just jealous that she isn't the only beautiful girl here."

"Oh, I don't mind her at all," Bella said nonchalantly, looking at him from over the rim of her coffee mug.

* * *

><p>The endgame was so close he could taste its sweetness on his bitter tongue. They had taken everything away from him and now he would take great pleasure in reciprocating. He had already called dibs on the human girl, Bella. He had plans for her, special plans.<p>

She was the one that ripped him of his plans, destroyed him, made him human. Yet, he still remembered the taste of her poisonous blood. He still craved it. And he was resolved to have it slither down his throat again.

Victoria wanted to kill them all but that would be too quick, too easy.

It would be a greater joy it to see them stripped of their humanity, stripped of everything, becoming the monsters they fought so hard not to be.

Monsters, like him.

There were only twenty-five newborns left of the initial hundred they had but they would have to make do. The numbers were still in their favor.

"Not too long now," Victoria said in that sweet sing-song voice of hers that he had once found sexy but now just grated on his nerves. "We'll be in Forks by tomorrow."

"Forks." He made a sour face. He would never get used to the name of the town. What idiot would call a town Forks and why? At least Mystic Falls had a nice ring to it. Yes, good old Mystic Falls. Won't it be quite the surprise when he showed up there again after this debacle was over with?

"What will you do after?"

"One step at a time, lovey. We haven't got that far yet."

"Surely, you've thought about it."

Oh, he had. He just didn't want to include her in his plans. She had went and gone all clingy on him. While he didn't mind the companionship at first, he had no desire to remain with her once the deed was done.

"Perhaps." He kissed the back of her hand. "But let's not talk of such things now. We have to get all of our little duckies in a row. I have a feeling this is going to be quite the spectacle."


	21. Training Day

It was like a scene out of Full Metal Jacket without the weapons. Damon watched as Jasper trained the "troops", feeling a sudden urge for popcorn and beer. The Texan vampire was in full military mode, his back straight and his voice commanding as he instructed both vampires and wolves alike on how to fight a newborn – or many newborns, as the case now stood. Damon was impressed. Especially seeing how the Originals were so out of their element. It was hard to believe they had survived all these years and didn't have a clue.

He'd give Elijah an E for effort. As stiff and formal as the old bag was, he was trying. Which was more than he could say for the others. Becky looked like she'd rather be picking lint and cat hair off a wool sweater and Finn, well Finn reminded him of Frankenstein in a bad B-movie portrayal; all bulk, no brain, lumbering around like an idiot. Yeah, he should definitely be a front-liner.

Kol, pretentious snob that he was, couldn't look more out of place if he tried with his Calvin Klein attire and his lips curled in disgust. Damon was sorely tempted to throw a fistful of mud at him, just to muck him up a bit.

"Am I _boring_ you?" Jasper said, getting into Kol's face.

"I just don't see how all this scrimmaging around in the dirt is really necessary."

"Oh, you don't?" He quirked a smile and backed up until he was across the lawn. "Pretend I'm a newborn." In less than a second, Jasper ran forward and had Kol on the ground, twisting underneath him. "You're dead. Less than a second is all it takes."

"Point taken," Kol gritted through his teeth, struggling to get out from under him. "Now get off me."

"Thought so," Jasper said with a grin over his shoulder at him after getting up and walking away. He went back to addressing the group. "Now, The two most important things to remember are first, never let them get their arms around you, they'll crush you instantly. And second, never go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that. And you will lose. Emmett!"

"Yo bro!"

"Let's demonstrate for them shall we? Don't hold back."

Emmett chuckled. "Do I ever?"

He charged. Jasper zipped out of his way and ended up behind him on top of his back as he simulated ripping off his neck.

"Never lose focus," Jasper reminded all of them. "Okay, who's next?"

"Shouldn't you be training too?" Elena asked, coming up behind Damon. She sat next to him on the porch, her arms wrapping around her legs.

"I won't exactly be fighting."

"You won't?" She was surprised. Damon liked to fight. He lived for it. "Where will you be?"

"With you."

"And where will I be?"

"Anywhere but here." He sighed deep in his throat and hung his head in defeat. It was a complete clusterfuck. He wanted her to stay so badly but he needed her to leave. "You should go back to Mystic Falls, Elena. Walk away from all of this. It's too dangerous here."

"No. My place is with you – with all of you. I'm not the type of person to turn my back on the people I love especially when there's trouble."

"Sometimes I wish you were," he grumbled, turning away from her.

"Then we wouldn't be here – like this." Her hand found his thigh and squeezed it softly. She meant it to reassure him but the way he flinched when she touched him, told her it had the opposite effect.

"Elena -"

"We've already had this discussion."

"That was before I had so much to lose."

"You won't lose anyone." She wanted to make him a promise but she wouldn't lie to him. No one knew what the outcome was going to be, not even Alice.

"Listen to you," he said with a forced smile. "Little Miss Optimism."

"Well, someone has to be optimistic, Debbie Downer." She bumped hsi shoulder with her own. "Let's face it, Damon; looking on the bright side has never been your forte."

"I never had a reason."

In a very un-Elena like way, she grabbed his chin, forcing his reluctant gaze to meet hers and swept her lips over his. He was so stunned at her sudden action that before he could even think to return the kiss, she pulled back, gently brushing his hair from his eyes with her fingers.

"You do now."

"Damon!" Jasper shouted at him with a grin, his arm head locked around Elijah. "Stop fraternizing with the ladies and get your lazy butt down here and train. How do you expect to protect your woman, if you can't fight for her?"

Elena grinned wide at the growl that left Damon's throat. She bumped her shoulder against his playfully. "Are you going to let him talk to you like that?"

"Hell, no!" Damon jumped up and ran down the steps. His leather jacket flapped behind him as he stalked after Jasper with a shit-eating grin. "C'mon Glow Stick, show me what you got."

* * *

><p>Bella slid her jacket covered body over tree bark and pulled out thin strands of her hair to leave them on the tree branches as she wound her way through the thick forest. Alice and Bonnie trailed behind her, carrying an assortment of her clothes, mimicking her movements. Short of her being in the clearing where they wanted the newborns to be, this was the only way for them to pick up on her scent and keep them away from the town.<p>

It had to work.

Maybe she should add some more incentive.

"Alice, get in front of me."

"Why?"

"I need both of you to be upwind."

"Oh, Bella, no –"

"Please, just do it."

"Fine," Alice huffed and stalked ahead. "This really isn't necessary, you know."

Bella wasn't about to take any chances. She pulled a pocketknife from her jeans and sliced her finger just enough where the blood beaded and pooled around the wound. Holding her breath to keep the nausea at bay, she rubbed her finger against tree bark, let the droplets fall on bush leaves as she followed Alice and Bonnie into the expanse of clearing.

Jacob stood there waiting, hands pocketed in his well-worn jeans and the look of impatience and anticipation tattooed on his face until he spotted Bonnie walking out of the cropping of trees. It was only then that his face relaxed.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" he asked the three of them, shrugging off his back pack and tossing it onto the ground in between them.

"It's the only shot we have. Did Charlie give Billy any problems?"

"Are you kidding? An excuse to go camping and fishing? Your dad was all over Billy's invite. You should see him before he leaves, you know, just in case."

"Bella will be fine," Alice told them.

"Oh yeah, leech? You got your second sight back?"

"Well, no but-"

"Then you're pretty much useless, aren't you?"

"Thank you for doing this, Jake," Bonnie said with reprimanding edge to her voice, interrupting what she was sure was going to turn into a sandbox fight.

"You're welcome and – uh – Sorry, blo—I mean, Alice."

Bella didn't know if it was her imagination but Jake really did look contrite and was that actually a blush he was sporting?

"So is this everything?" she asked, scooping up the heavy backpack by the shoulder strap.

"It's all there. So is Edward going to be able to stand being near you when you smell like me?"

"Edward won't be with me. He'll be fighting alongside you and everyone else."

"I'm surprised he's leaving you alone."

"I won't be alone, Jake. Damon will be with me."

"Seriously? Edward trusts him? Maybe that boy isn't as smart as I thought."

"There are things you don't know, Jake." Bonnie told him. "Damon would protect Bella with his life if need be."

"Why?" Jake's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's she to him?"

Bella straightened her shoulders, prepared to tell Jake the truth she had been cloaking from him. "I'm his sister."

* * *

><p>Well, that went well," Bella mumbled partially to herself after Jake ran off.<p>

"Vampires, werewolves and witches, he believes. But reincarnation throws him for a loop? Unbelievable."

"Don't forget prophecies and curses," Bonnie added to Alice's tirade.

"It _does_ sound pretty far-fetched, even by our standards." Bella was in the process of putting on Jakes clothes over her own to mask her scent. Jesus, he was big! His shirt hung well past her knees and his pants? Well, she had to roll them up so many times, she looked like she had donuts wrapped around her ankles. "So what do you think?" She asked after fitting Jake's baseball cap over her head.

Alice scrunched up her nose in disgust. "No offense, Bella, but you stink."

"Wasn't that the whole plan?"

"It worked a little too well. Walk around a bit, slowly. You can't break out in a sweat. It would defeat the whole purpose. I want to make sure I can't track you – Oh - and please try not to fall."

"Anything?" Bonnie asked her as Bella started running around the weed-infested field.

"Not a thing." Alice shook her head. "Just the smell of wet dog." She scrunched her nose.

"Do you think it will last?"

"That's what we're hoping for. Okay, FloJo," she shouted towards Bella. "you can stop now. We gotta get moving before sunset."

Bella, stopped in front of Alice and bent over, resting her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Damn, she was out of shape if the short jaunt she did was enough to make her lungs burn. "Flojo?" she managed to pant out. "Are you taking lessons from Damon, now?"

"He can be quite amusing when he's not being a jerk. C'mon," Alice helped her up. "You can piggy back on me."

"On you?" Bonnie snorted as she sized them both up. "While carrying the backpack?"

"Watch it, Willow. I'm a lot stronger than I look."

"You _are_ taking lessons from Damon."

* * *

><p>"You can't be serious!" Damon scowled when the pile of matchsticks masquerading as a cabin came into view. He turned to Edward. "Who is responsible for picking out this Casa de Crappo?"<p>

An old abandoned shack would've been a more apt term for the dilapidated hunting cabin that was nestled in on the side of the mountain. It barely looked like it would survive the next light rain with its splintered wood siding and a roof than looked like it would cave-in at any moment.

Edward's lips compressed into a thin line. "It's the highest, most isolated cabin in the area."

"In other words, you're responsible."

"Damon," Elena said in a reproving tone. "I'm sure it's fine. Let's just set up, okay?"

"Ugh! Fine." He rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

The inside wasn't much prettier than the outside, Damon thought when Elena opened the creaky door. There was a bed…well more like a two cots squished together, splintered floors, a rickety uneven round wooden table and a couple of bridge chairs.

"Thanks for the sterling accommodations, Glitter Glam," Damon said as he plunked the boxed he was carrying on the floor. "I'll be sure to leave you a fat tip at the end of my stay."

* * *

><p>"Is that thing structurally sound?" Bella asked when Alice finally set her down a few feet from the entrance of the old wooden cabin.<p>

"Do you honestly think Edward will let you stay somewhere that he thought would fall apart?"

"Not in theory."

"Don't be such a worry wart." Alice rolled her eyes and motioned with her head. "Let's go. They're waiting for us.

Edward, Damon and Elena were already inside setting up when they walked in. Bella scanned the one room cabin wondering how long this place had been abandoned before Edward found it. The only modern necessity in the room was a large "portable" heater/stove, the type she used to sell at Newton's for avid campers that didn't want to completely forgo the comforts of home. The heater was a good thing being tucked in a high up in altitude where the winds breathing beyond the dirty windows were that much harsher.

"You're here." Edward wrapped her in his arms. "I'm sorry, it's not much but it's safe."

"No, it's fine." Bella tried to force reassurance into her tone. "It's only for one night, right?"

"One night," Alice assured her.

"Good." She nodded absently and looked around the room. "So what now?"

"You, Damon and Elena will stay here while Bonnie, Alice and I will – "

Alice shook her head slowly. "I'm staying too."

All eyes turned in her direction, each showing the same mix of wariness and surprise.

"Why?" Damon asked suspiciously.

"Isn't it obvious?" she huffed. "I can see up here. No wolves. Down there I am blind. Besides, Snarky Pants –" she smirked in his direction. "- if more than one of my kind happens to find his way up here, you and a diamond blasting laser gun won't be much of a match."

"She's right," Edward was reluctant to agree. It wasn't that he didn't trust Damon with Bella's safety. He knew the vampire would die trying to save his sister and the woman he loved but there was only one of him and two human girls. He didn't like those odds. "It will be better if Alice stays. This way if she sees something, she can contact one of the rest of us."

"For the record, Thumbelina, you'll have to brush up on your insulting nick-naming skills if you want to go toe to toe with me" Damon scoffed, then added "Do we even get cell service up here in Deliverance central?"

Pulling a phone from her jacket, Alice held it up for all to see. "You do if you have a satellite phone."

* * *

><p>It was time to say good bye and Bella felt the fear of being separated from Edward clawing at her. To not know if he would return to her safe and whole, terrified her. She'd rather face Klaus and Victoria than a future without Edward. But his place was in the fray of the battle. She knew that. He had the advantage of being able to hear thoughts and that could mean the difference of winning or losing for all of them.<p>

"Be safe. I want you to come back to me," Edward said as he walked her outside to say a private goodbye.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you."

"Oh, silly girl. I won't let anything happen to me, not when I know you'll be waiting for me."

"You're not impervious, Edward. " She frowned, a niggling feeling that all would not go as planned, that something bad was going to happen, even with Alice's contradictions otherwise. "Just be careful. No matter what. Promise me."

"I promise." He trailed his finger down her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers. "Just say the words, Bella and I'll stay."

"I _do_ want you here but …" She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force the words out. "…they need you down there. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to any of them because I was being selfish."

"You're far from selfish."

"But I would be if I asked you to stay, which is why I'm not going to."

"Okay," he breathed out with a nod against her. "If you're sure."

She wasn't sure but she knew what she was doing was the right thing to do. "I am."


	22. Up the Ante

"C'mon, Princess," Damon said, waggling his brows playfully. "Drop it like it's hot. Show me what you're hiding."

"Ugh, why does everything that rolls off your tongue sound dirty?"

"You enjoyed my dirty mouth the other night."

Alice made a gagging sound from her seat near the window and Damon swiveled around in his chair, fixing her with narrowed eyes. "Don't you have something better to do, Tiny Tim, like tiptoe through the tulips?"

Alice nodded over to Elena and winked. "A straight flush trumps a high card straight."

"Sometimes your ability to predict the future sucks the fun out of everything." Damon grimaced and threw his cards down on the table, sending them skittering across the wood surface. "I'm out."

"Guess I win," Elena said with a grin and placed her cards face up. "Thanks Alice."

"A pair of deuces? Are you effin' kidding me?" Damon slammed his palms on the table and pushed back in his chair, the sound of its legs scraping across the floor before it fell over completely as he stood up. "What the hell, Alice? I thought you said she had a straight flush."

"I never said _Elena_ had the straight flush," Alice said, feigning innocence.

"_I_ have the straight flush." Bella smirked, fanning the cards in front of her face before placing them on the table, face up.

"You," Damon sputtered. "You said you didn't even know how to play poker?"

"I may have exaggerated a teeny bit." She shrugged. "Stef taught me."

"Of course he did," he said, crossing the floor to gaze outside, his eyes searching for unseen threats. It was too quiet, he thought gripping the window ledge. He was beginning to feel like too much of a sitting duck and no matter how many stupid games they played to pass the hours, he couldn't shake the feeling. "Why does this remind me of the scene from Jaws when the guys are all drinking and singing 'Show Me the Way to Go Home' right before the shark rams the side of the boat?"

"I don't think sharks are much concern in the mountains," Alice said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Thanks for the geography lesson, Carmen Santiago but I'm more concerned with the other predators that are equipped with sharp incisors. Are you sure your spidey senses are working? I mean they have been kind of glitchy lately."

"My sight is just fine, Damon."

Bella cut her gaze from Alice to Damon and back again. Those two were apt to kill one another before the night was through. They'd been sniping at each other for hours now. Damon pushed and Alice shoved right back. She knew Damon was feeling frustrated by the situation. He really wanted to be in the fray of things. He also hated depending on Alice's sight. And Alice? Well she hated to have her abilities questioned, so used to being in the know about everything. She also hated being away from Jasper, especially now.

"I'm going to call Edward," Bella announced, standing up, needing to cut through the thick tension. "Then I'm going to bed."

"Bella's got the right idea." Elena nodded. She, too, thought it was time to diffuse the situation. There were only so many card games they could play. "Damon? Why don't you join me on the cot? Bella can take the other one."

He nodded absently as he pulled at his lower lip, watching his reflection in the window. He knew he wasn't going to get a lick of sleep, especially on the thin lump of a mattress masquerading as a bed. Hell, even if said bed was one for kings with Egyptian cotton sheets that were a gazillion thread count, he'd probably be tossing all night. Nervous anticipation wasn't his forte. He tended to get snappy.

There was so much could go wrong, even if he did employ his sneaky safety nets. And Stefan. He was down there. If something was to happen to him and he didn't get to make his peace with him, he may never forgive himself.

Bella took Alice's phone and stepped outside into the chilly night air, pulling the loose clothes tighter around her. The stars were out tonight, for once, shining bright against the clear night sky. In the distance she could hear coyotes howling and the mountain wind rustle through the trees. It was so peaceful, it was hard to believe in a few hours, the peace would be corrupted by violence.

She scrolled through the contacts on the phone and smiled when she saw the picture Alice had of Edward. It was obviously a candid shot, taken mid-laugh. When was the last time he really laughed like that?

"Alice?" he answered on the first ring. "Is there something wrong? Is Bella-"

"It's me, Edward," she quickly assured him. "Everything's fine. I just wanted to call and say goodnight and to tell you I love you."

She heard his sigh through the phone, his relief was palatable. "I love you too and Bella, everything is going to work out. I promise."

Even though he said he couldn't read her mind, he sure didn't have any trouble knowing the direction her thoughts had headed.

"I know," she agreed but her voice lacked conviction.

"Listen, I know you're scared. If you want me to scratch this whole thing and replace Alice, I will. I can be there in less than an hour."

"No. It's fine." She left out her feelings of trepidation. The last thing he needed on his mind was to worry about her. It would be a distraction and his concentration was needed elsewhere. "I'm sure we'll be safe up here. Alice assures me I still stink to the high heavens."

Edward laughed through the phone and she knew she was doing the right thing. "Good. By tomorrow night this will all be a memory. Nothing is going to stop me from coming for you."

"You better."

"Until tomorrow then, love."

"I'll be waiting." Bella paused thoughtfully, knowing there was one other person she needed to speak with. "Hey, is Stefan there? I want to talk to him."

"Yeah, hold on."

She waited only a few moments before she heard Stefan's voice come over the line. She also felt eyes at her back and knew that Damon was watching her from the window.

"Hey, Stef," she said forcing cheerfulness in her tone. The unease in her stomach wasn't letting up. She needed things to be set right before the morning between her brothers, just in case.

"You haven't called me that in ages," he chuckled. "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to check in, tell you to be careful, watch your back and most important of all, that I love you, big brother. It means a lot to me that you are here."

"Bella, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I've failed you once before. I'm not going to-"

"Stop it. You've never failed me."

"Well, just the same, despite everything, I'm glad I'm here."

Turning around, she saw Damon watching her through the window and knew he could hear her every word. She knew he was going to be pigheaded but she also knew he'd carry the weight of his guilt for a thousand years if things got ugly and he never made his peace with Stefan. Well, she could be just as pigheaded.

"I have someone that wants to talk to you."

"Who?" Stefan's voice sounded wary.

Damon shook his head furiously at her and in turn she waved him forward with her hand until he rolled his eyes. He opened the door and stepped through the doorway.

"C'mon Damon. Get your butt over here. Rome wasn't built in a day but it has to start somewhere."

"Okay, fine, Miss Bossy Pants." He held out his hand for the phone and she placed it in his hand with a victorious smirk. "I think we raised a real tyrant, Stef," he said into the phone.

"I blame you," Stefan chuckled softly.

"Yeah, it probably _was_ my fault. So how are things at command central?"

"Tense. What about up there?"

"Same. Got my ass kicked in poker, though."

"Let me guess. Bella."

"Yeah, she's a regular shark. She tells me I have you to thank for that."

"You're welcome."

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them that felt longer than any distance by miles. There was too much unsaid between them and neither of them knew how to breach that chasm.

"So, anywho..." Damon broke through the quiet first.

"Bella said you had something to talk to me about."

"I was kinda working up to that but yeah, I guess I do." Damon squeezed his eyes shut and left out a whoosh of air, his fingers tightening around the phone. The idea of apologizing again made his throat burn and his palms itch. He had done the right thing. He walked away from it all. What was he supposed to say, I'm sorry your girlfriend chose me and by the way don't get your ass killed tomorrow? "I'm sorry you're hurting."

There that should cover it. He was sorry Stefan was in pain but he wasn't going to apologize for being happy. He wasn't sorry Elena chose him. He could admit to himself that he was too selfish for that. Why should everyone be miserable?

"Just not sorry enough to give her up."

Oh, hell, no. He did not just go there. "Stefan..."

"Sorry, sorry. I know. Like Bella said, Rome wasn't built in a day. But this isn't exactly something I can forgive and forget so easily."

"I know." Boy, did he know.

"But," Stefan added, "I have to accept that she made her choice long before we broke up. I just didn't want to see what was happening right in front of me."

"Denial seems to be your forte."

"And trying to take what I have is yours," he snapped back.

"It's not like Elena woke up one morning and said, 'Gee, I'm going to shred Stefan's feelings to ribbons today'. I get it. It sucks. _I know_. I've been there remember?_ Twice_. And I'm really tired of you talking about Elena like she was a possession to be acquired. I didn't _take_ her. She _chose_ me, Stefan, _me_." Damon stabbed his finger at his own chest. "But you'd be a fool if you think that you don't have a special part of Elena's heart and you always will."

"I bet you hate that too."

"No, Stef, I really don't. At one of the worst times in her life, you were what she needed and she loved you with everything she had. You see, I get that about her. I _understand_."

"I think you actually do," Stefan agreed much to Damon's surprise. "Just don't break her heart, Damon. That's all I ask. Or I will have to drive a stake through yours."

"If that happens, I'll be the one handing you the wood. Stick close to Jasper and Eddie tomorrow."

"I will. You protect our girls."

"Count on it. Oh and Stef?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get yourself killed. I think I'd miss having you around."

"You too, bro, you too."


	23. Best Laid Plans Part 1

Silence like dead air filled the void space and no one dared to breathe as they waited to hear the first crunches of earth thundering towards them. It would happen quickly, Jasper knew. Newborns were determinedly single-minded creatures with little humanity and an unquenchable thirst for blood. He watched the small shaft of light hit the top of the largest pine. This was what Alice had seen in her vision.

Dawn broke, not with a sweet song of the summer swallows but with a war cry. A disorganized battalion of Klaus' newborn vampires broke into the clearing, wildly searching for their prey, the source of the blood whose scent still lingered on evergreen needles and leaves that led them to this space.

Jasper took advantage of their confusion and gave the signal that would begin the battle. He and the others burst through the shelter of the forest evergreens, barreling forth in a blur of wind, barely visible to the human eye. The wolves followed next, leaping through the air, their lips pulled back over their teeth, jaws snapping ready to rip at marbleized flesh. This was their destiny, what they were made for and they took to it with gleeful abandon, knowing they served a purpose, to protect human life at all cost.

Bonnie stood in the shadows; a warrior priestess garbed in blue jeans. Her hands fisted at her sides as she gathered the strength of her Wiccan sisters. Jake and Seth flanked her sides, serving as her guardians. She was an honorary member of their pack now and they would protect her as Jake's imprint at all costs.

Words fell from her lips in an ancient language. Wind swirled around her, picking up and gathering speed. Closing her eyes, her arm shot forward, aiming her power towards the direction of the fighting fray. Screams of pain and tearing limbs reached her ears. It was working. Newborn bodies were falling like domino pieces and being ripped apart. A decapitated head rolled toward her like a bowling ball, hitting her leg. She jumped back with a screech, her concentration broken.

"Bonnie!" Stefan shouted at her.

Her head snapped up in the direction of his voice. He was on his knees, grasping at his ears with a newborn swiftly coming up behind him. Damn it. Ignoring the dead, crimson eyes that stared up at her, she pulled back, directing full force at the vampire bearing down on Stefan. He whipped around, grabbing either side of the newborn's head and ripped it off, sending it spiraling into a bonfire of detached vampire bodies and purple smoke that held the scent of burnt hair and maple syrup.

Alaric was perched above them on a sturdy branch, trying to aim his modified diamond cutting laser gun.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself, swinging the barrel of the gun back and forth, looking for a mark. There were just too many of them, moving too quickly he couldn't manage to get a clear shot. "Wait a second." He tracked the movement of one sneaking up on Elijah. "Come on you bastard. There!" He fired off, the beam hitting it's mark, cutting a line right across the chest, effectively severing the body from the shoulders. "And that's how you slay a vampire, human style."

Elijah shot a surprised look at him before sending him a slight nod of thanks and sought out his next conquest.

Rebekah watched from a cautious distance, never joining the fight but instead retreated backwards, out of sight. She had nothing in common with these people, yet, looking out at their faces, knowing that they were fighting out of love and loyalty, she felt jealousy consume her. Would anyone, even her brothers, fight for her as fiercely as they were for these two insignificant human girls and their loved ones? Klaus wasn't even here, not that she could see. Wasn't that the whole point? Wasn't that what her brother had promised? Retribution. There was none to be had that she could see.

She never signed up for_ this_. She had been volunteered. Damn Elijah and his misplaced moral and ethical obligations. What did she care what happened to the Cullens , the Salvatores and those insipid human girls? She retreated even further away, not sure if she was pleased or disappointed that no one noticed she wasn't there, in the midst of things. It just added more evidence that this was a complete waste of time and she didn't belong here.

"Well, well, well."

She gasped, startled. She hadn't heard that voice in over eighty years but she would know it anywhere.

"If it isn't my rebellious sister, Rebekah."

The way he said her name, like a taunting reprimand still sent shivers of fear through her. Stealing her shoulders, she turned around. Klaus was leaning against a tree, arms crossed in front of him. He looked exactly the same, just in modern dress, still carrying that same blase' expression that hid the manic madness that simmered beneath a thin veneer of charm. He leisurely pushed himself off the tree and advanced towards her slowly. His smile was a lazy sneer, close-lipped and one-sided.

"Klaus," she acknowledged him with a stubborn tilt to her chin. "I would say I'm happy to see you again but I'm really not, considering the last time I saw you."

"Oh, come now, Bekah, after all we've been through together? It was you and me against the world once."

"That was before you plunged a stake through my heart and tossed me in a coffin to rot for eighty years."

"You had disappointed me. I was in a mood." He shrugged as if he couldn't care less. "It ended badly, but I know how we can make amends."

"I don't want to make amends. I want nothing to do with you."

"I'm not giving you a choice."

"You can't kill me." Even as she said it, she hoped he didn't pull out a shaft of white oak from behind his back and stake her with it. No, he wanted something from her. But what?

"Maybe not." He eyed her up and down. "But I can rip off your arms and legs quite easily," he said with a malicious grin. "Imagine that, Rebakah, just a torso with a head really. Useless stumps where your limbs used to be, living the rest of your days begging for every scrap of blood because you'd be too helpless to get it for yourself. Reduced to relying on the kindness of strangers. Picture, if you will, the stares of horror and the shrieks from young children every time you dared go out in public, having to be wheeled around like the invalid you would be. I doubt eighty years locked in a box cured you of your vanity. It would be a fate worse than death, I think." He cocked his head at her thoughtfully, silently daring her to disagree.

It was a horrific picture he painted. Rebekah chilled at the image. She had no doubts that he would do it. Klaus had always been cruel and self-serving.

She gave a resigned sigh. "What do you want?"

Klaus chuckled and looked up into a nearby tree. "See Victoria, I told you she would see things my way. No need for excessive violence when we can bargain." He brought his focus back to his sister. "Much less mess that way."

A woman with gnarly, tangled curls of red hair jumped from the tree branch above them. "But a lot more entertaining." Victoria frowned.

"Perhaps. Now, Bekah, this is important. I need to know where Isabella Swan is being stashed. You do know, don't you?"

If she told them, she'd have to leave, run far away so she could never be found. She didn't trust Klaus not to tell anyone where he got the information from. He liked to brag too much. Her life wouldn't mean much after that. Elijah would take it as a betrayal at the very least even if Kol and Finn backed her. She didn't want to think about what the Cullens and the Salvatore brothers would do. Perhaps something worse than what Klaus was threatening.

"Clocks ticking," Victoria reminded her. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not very patient. What do you say, Klaus? Right arm first?"

"Stop." Her voice trembled as her bottom lip quivered slightly. "Fine, I'll tell you. She's north of here, in the highest cabin on the mountain. Up there." She pointed, towards a mountain ridge obscured by tall trees. "They masked her scent with the wolves. If you follow that, you'll find her."

"Thank you, sister. Perhaps there's hope for a familial reconciliation yet."

"Don't bet on it."

She watched them go, felt the breeze follow them and consoled herself with the fact that they left her no choice. Turning in the opposite direction, she ran towards the battle with a building vengeance. To join the fight might be the only way her brothers would forgive such a betrayal.

* * *

><p>Edward felt the shift of wind behind him. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of the newborn, flipped him over his shoulder and pounced. With one twist, he wrenched the head off the body and threw it at the vampire who was charging towards Esme. It was his fourth kill of the morning but he felt no sense of victory, no sense of rightness.<p>

Something was wrong. He shook off the feeling. He had to believe Bella was safe with every fiber of his being. Thinking any other way would lead to insanity. There was no room for distractions.

"Edward! Look Out!" He heard Carlisle's cry right before he felt it; a piercing of rabid teeth ripping into his shoulder. He roared in pain, attempting to fling the newborn off him but the teeth sink in further.

Just as quickly as it happened, the weight from his body was gone. Grabbing at the mangled portion of his shoulder, feeling the leaking venom seep through what was left of his shirt, he dropped to his knees. Through pain hazed eyes, he watched Emmett mercilessly destroying his attacker. Unable to bear the pain any longer, he dropped to his knees.

Carlisle ran up beside him, frantic thoughts running through his head. "Let me see your arm."

"No time," Edward said through clenched teeth as he tried to stand up.

"No more fighting for you, not if you want to save your arm." Carlisle glanced behind him before inspecting the tear. There were only a few of the newborns left and they were losing quickly. The rest of his family, while not completely unscathed, had fared better than his oldest son. Even now he could hear Emmett's triumphant shouts. "It's almost over anyway."

He glanced down at his appendage as it dangled uselessly from his shoulder, nearly completely severed off. He even had the newborn's broken off teeth boldly embedded in his skin with venom. Edward nodded in defeat and hated himself for admitting it. Yet, Carlisle was right. There would be no more fighting for him today, not in his weakened state.

"Good. I have venom stored at the house. We can seal it there. Your own venom has already started the healing process."

Edward didn't ask why Carlisle had kept venom on hand. He already knew. It was for Bella. Just in case. With his father's help, he stumbled along, each step causing shooting pain to travel up his arm. He hated to leave. He wanted to see it through to the end. _He_ wanted to be the one to kill Klaus and Victoria, to look into their eyes as he ripped their heads from their bodies, wanted to watch the fire as it burned every last particle.

They hadn't been there, he thought in a panic, at least not from what he had seen. Where the hell were they?

* * *

><p>Bella had barely begun to sleep out of her eyes before she felt someone shaking her awake. Every time she had closed her eyes, some nightmarish vision plagued her thoughts.<p>

"Everyone up now!"

It was Alice in full panic mode. That was never a good thing. She sat up and rolled her neck around to remove the kinks in it before reaching for her sneakers under the cot. The cabin was cloaked in absolute darkness except for Alice's pale glow blurring around the room. For such a small thing, she was making a lot of noise.

"What's going on?" Elena mumbled sleepily from under Damon's arm.

"Klaus and Victoria are on their way here," Alice explained as she turned on a large flashlight. "Bella, Elena, you have to make a run for it. Damon and I will head them off before they get here."

"Hey, I thought you said they were safe here." Damon sat up gave her an accusing stare.

"We were. I don't know what happened. I just had a small burst of a vision that they were on their way here."

"Looks like it's time to lock and load." His eyes went to the two laser guns courtesy of Ric. "Bella and Elena should take the Vampinators."

"Vampinators?" Bella shoved her hair from her face and cocked an eyebrow at her brother. "Seriously?"

"I thought it was funny _and_ apropos."

"Are we really going to argue over pet names for the guns?" Alice crossed her arms at them. "What part of 'Klaus and Victoria are on their way' did you not understand. Just take them and go. Hurry!"

Bella and Elena ran out the door of the cabin, scrambling through the woods with only the barest hint of sunrise to guide their way. They would have to hike upward, Bella thought. If they went down, they ran the risk of running into Klaus. She looked at the terrain around them and realized she wouldn't be able to do it, not with Jake's clothes making her movements cumbersome. She shed the clothes as they went, tossing them in different directions hoping it would throw Klaus and Vicki off their trail.

Her breath swirled around her in a vaporous mist as they trekked over rocks, pushing tree branches out of their way. She hadn't accounted for how cold it would be without the layers of warmth Jake's clothes provided her with. She felt too exposed, too vulnerable out here, not to mention she left her scent everywhere she moved.

She tried to remain hopeful but it was difficult. There were too many variables against them, against _all_ of them. Running was futile wasn't it? She had no doubt they could be and would be tracked. Did Damon and Alice stand a chance when she and Elena had the only weapons? Two against two sounded like a fair fight but Damon wasn't a cold one. She hated to think of him as weak. In comparison, he may be as cunning but he wasn't impenetrable, not like Alice was. If he were to be bitten, what then? How would the venom affect him?

"I have to go back," Bella told Elena as she gasped for air. The high altitude mixed with the running were making her out of breath and dizzy. "You go on ahead."

"What?" Elena stopped short and turned around, her jaw agape. "No." She shook her head stubbornly. "We stick together. If you go back, I go back."

"What if-"

"No, Bella. I won't do it. Don't ask me to. I know what you're going to do. Count me in." She gave a determined smile and tightened her fingers around the weapon growing heavier in her hand. "Besides, would _you_ leave_ me_ to face them alone?"

Bella's lips compressed. Elena had point and she knew it. She wouldn't abandon Elena if the roles were reversed. Knowing what she knew of her new friend, she should've anticipated her reaction. Edward would flip if he knew what they were going to do. She could practically hear his voice in her head, demanding that she run the other way.

"Okay, fine, but first we need a plan."

* * *

><p>It was over, Jasper thought as they stood around the bonfire of broken off limbs, torsos and heads, watching the dark purple smoke waft upwards and dissipate into the sky. He should feel victorious but he didn't. He was reminded of his days in the Civil War where brother fought against brother and no one felt the loss of life or their hand in it until the fight was over and the adrenaline wore off. It was too easy to lose sight of what you were doing only because you thought what you were doing was right. By the time it was over and done and you were staring at the destruction you had a hand in reaping did it really hit full force.<p>

It wasn't much compensation knowing that these were the burning bodies of newborn vampires whose only purpose was to kill them first or that the world was better off without these blood ravenous un-dead beasts. They never asked for this life. They didn't have a man like Carlisle, easing them from certain death and guiding their way. They were someone's child, parent, brother, sister, lover. They were the faces on missing persons posters plastered all over the walls of police stations in every county in Washington State and beyond. They had been loved. Now they were the dead pawns in the twisted vengeance of a madman.

"Why so glum, chum?" Emmett bumped his shoulder against his as they walked back to the house. "We kicked ass out there today."

Jasper offered him up a grim, tight lipped smile and kicked at a rock in his path, sending it flying. "Yeah, we definitely did that," he agreed in a soft voice that was anything but sincere.

"You're worried about Edward, aren't you? He'll be fine bro. Carlisle will patch him up as good as new. He must be pissed though, he had to pull out just as things were tidying up. Can't help wondering why Klaus was a no show. I was looking forward to whipping his ass into the next century."

That was another concern. Where was Klaus and his red-haired side-kick? He had expected them to make an appearance towards the end after sending in their pawns first. But they never showed.

A wave of guilt hit him and he knew it wasn't his own. He stopped, his eyes darting around, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. Again it hit, this time almost knocking him to his feet. He gaze landed on the blonde haired Original and snarled. She met his stare and looked away, recoiling.

"You!" Jasper stalked up to her but Kol stepped in between them.

"Back off, Tex." He went to push Jasper back but he was quicker and grabbed Kol's wrist, stopping him.

"I wouldn't if I were you. Your sister knows something. I want to know what it is."

"What could I possibly know?" She threw her arms up defensively. "I've been fighting along side all of you the whole time."

"Not the whole time, Rebekah," Elijah reminded her, sounding like a chastising parent.

"Thanks a lot for throwing me to the wolves, 'Lijah." She shot him a hard glare. "So much for the family loyalty you're always going on about. I'm out of here."

"The wolves are behind you, darlin' and they're not the ones you should be worried about." Jasper blurred around Kol and grabbed Rebekah's arm. He gave her his best Southern charm smile, but his eyes darkened perceptively. "Now, why don't you explain to me why you feel more ashamed than a whore in church on confession day?"


	24. Best Laid Plans 2

"Dibs on Klaus," Elena whispered through gritted teeth as she and Bella wove their way through the foliage back towards the mountain cabin.

Bella nodded in response. Elena deserved to have Klaus. He'd been stalking after her family for over five hundred years. If anyone had a right to kill Klaus it was Elena. She was more than satisfied to take on Victoria, a vamp that had been the bane of her existence since she first saw her on that makeshift baseball field two years ago.

Their plan was to confuse them by spreading their scent around, criss-crossing and backtracking over their own steps until they reached the cabin. They were going to hide in plain sight. Bella only prayed it worked.

"If you see an opportunity, take it."

She gripped the laser gun tighter in her hand, the weight of it offering reassurance that they wouldn't be completely defenseless. If only she had asked Charlie to take her to the shooting range. With her luck, she shoot herself in her own foot.

Dispelling the image with a shake of her head, she motioned to Elena to move quietly. The cabin was only a mile or so away but Bella didn't want to take any chances of being heard.

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight," Damon said with a wry smile and not a little bit of disbelief. "<em>I'm<em> supposed to cover _you_ while you attack first? Shouldn't it be the other way around, Shorty?"

"Don't be a chauvinistic pig." Alice rolled her eyes. "I may be small but I am fast and I am strong. It takes a lot more than a stake to the heart to kill me. You on the other - " She stopped, her whole body stilling. Her eyes widened as they darted around before narrowing in anger. "No, no," she cried out to no one in particular. "What the hell are they thinking?"

"What?"

"Bella and Elena. They're coming back here. Quick!" She shoved him by the shoulders towards the door. "You have to go. You have to stop them."

Damon didn't even pause, he just acted. He swung the door open and barely stepped a foot outside before he was being tossed. His back struck a tree with a resounding thwack. Pain erupted through him. He wiped his palm across his mouth and inspected the blood on his fingers and looked up to see Klaus hovering over him with a cheshire cat grin and demon red eyes.

"Give a guy a little warning, will ya?" He said between coughs as he clutched his chest fighting for air. Yup, he was pretty sure he had some broken ribs, one piercing his lung. Beautiful! Biding his time waiting for the bones to knit back together was going to be a challenge.

"Surprise! Miss me?"

"You don't call, you don't write, you don't send me flowers anymore," Damon snarked as he edged himself back up using the tree to prop him up.

"My apologies. I'll be sure to send a nice arrangement to your funeral, which should be rather soon, I suspect."

Behind Klaus, Alice and Victoria were circling each other, their bodies bent forward, lips pulled back as feral growls escaped their lips, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Damon nodded in their direction. "I love a good old cat fight, don't you?"

When Klaus spared a glance behind him, Damon rushed forward to tackle him. In that same moment Alice leapt towards a tree and used it to come at Victoria sideways, landing on her shoulder and yanked at her hair. A shriek escaped her.

Damon was tossed backwards again, this time on a branch that pierced right through his chest, barely missing his heart. He gasped for air, feeling the blood seep from him fast. If Alice didn't get finished with Victoria soon, he was as good as dead.

Klaus pursed his lips and studied the vampire before him, watched him thoughtfully while Damon struggled against the piercing branch.

"I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge, mate. You're pathetic."

Damon wanted to smack the sneer right off his face. There was no way he was going to be bested by a metro-sexual vampire. Not now. Not ever. Not when he had so much to live for. How disgustingly ironic would it be for him to have everything he wanted and lose it so quickly? Not gonna happen.

"It ain't over til it's over," he gritted out through clenched teeth and slid himself off the branch with a satisfied smirk. In the distance he heard Alice taunting Victoria and hoped she was having better luck.

Klaus advanced forward, his lips curled into satisfied grin. "Sorry to break it to you but it's over." He blurred forward but Damon jumped out of the way and landed on unsteady legs. "You're just prolonging the inevitable."

"Maybe. Then again, maybe not."

"Surely, you can't believe you are any match for me."

"Speaking of matches," Damon reached into his back pocket and pulled out a travel size can of hairspray and lighter. He may not have a snazzy laser gun but he was resourceful. In one swift movement he sent a torch of flames in Klaus' direction, singing his shoulder and side of his face giving his cheek speckles of a dark graphite color. "And don't call me Shirley."

With an angry roar, Klaus lunged, tackling Damon to the ground.

"Get off of him!" A vehement shout came from behind them.

Damon wanted to close his eyes and slump in defeat. He _knew_ that voice. Under normal circumstances the sound of it brought him joy. Not now.

"How quaint," Klaus snickered halting his killing blow. "The girlfriend rides in on her white horse to save the day."

"Elena, go! Get out of here!"

"Not on your life, Salvatore." She leveled the nozzle of the laser directly at Klaus. Her stance was defiant but she knew if Klaus looked closely enough, he would be able to see the tendons in her arms straining to keep her hold steady. "Let him go or I will kill you."

"You'll try and kill me either way, princess, I might-"

"I am _not_ your princess." She shot a short beam straight at his foot.

It missed by a small margin but it was enough for Klaus to startle and for Damon to make his move. He surged upward, pushing Klaus off using every bit of strength he had in his reserves. It wasn't just about saving himself now. It was about keeping himself alive, so he could keep Klaus away from Elena. Why didn't things ever go as planned? Surely, his karma wasn't _that_ fucked up.

They grappled with each other, moving too quickly for her to get a clear aim but one thing was clear. Damon was losing steam. She knew how the laser would affect Klaus but would it be deadly for Damon? She couldn't risk it.

Think, Elena, think, she chided herself. What could she use? Blood! She had blood. Her eyes darted the ground by her feet, looking for anything that had a sharp edge. Nestled within a clump of weeds lay a rock with a spearlike end. Keeping the gun trained on them, she crouched down and picked it up.

"Hey, Klaus!" she called out, hoping to divert his attention.

He never spared her a look. His attention had one focus and it wasn't her. With a long intake of steeling breath, she dragged the rock across her skin. Blood beaded and pooled on her forearm before dripping down to the dirt below.

Klaus whirled to her, his deep inhale visible right before he licked his lips. Now she had his attention. It only took her a second to lock eyes with Damon's fearful ones to send a silent message she hoped he would head; don't interfere.

As Klaus went to advance toward her, Damon locked his arms around his chest and hung on tight allowing Elena the time she needed to send a laser blast right at Klaus' middle. He roared in agony as the white stream of bright light cut into him making a sickening high frequency sound.

Damon jumped back, being caught by the edge of the beam.

"Fuck!" he shouted looking down at his side. Blood seeped around his fingers and the smoke of burning flesh wafted to his nostrils turning his stomach.

Elena kept her focus on Klaus, cutting criss-cross shapes into his marbleized skin as he writhed on the ground. His pale blue gazed beseeched her for mercy but she found she had none to spare as she aimed with almost a sadistic glee.

This was her revenge for months spent in terror and suspense, of time-wasted, and delayed choices and sometimes having barely a choice at all. She wanted him to fear her just as he made her fear, to inflict pain as she had.

"Not so fun, is it, Klaus?" It was a rhetorical question she didn't expect nor want an answer too.

"Elena, stop!" Damon shouted out. "That's enough!" The look on her face was jarring. He had never seen her look so ferocious, so joyful at putting an end to another being and he wasn't sure if he liked it. He always imagined he would enjoy it if she acted more like him, not sparing remorse when none was warranted. The truth was, now that he witnessed it, he didn't enjoy it at all. It scared him.

He stared at Klaus's separated pieces, still moving, still alive and then back at Elena, who was panting heavy with exertion and a smile tugging at her lips. This wasn't Elena. This was someone else, someone he didn't know.

All it took was the look of horror and desolation in Damon's eyes to bring her world into focus again and realize what she had just done. She dropped her weapon and winced as it thudded a few times before settling on the dirt.

"Oh God." She doubled over, fighting nausea, trying not to look at Klaus, who was still sort of alive or at Damon, whom she was sure was wearing an expression of disgust now instead of shock. "He was going to kill you. I…couldn't…I _wouldn't_…" She shook her head. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, her whole body started to tremble. "Who _was_ I just now? That...she...Damon, she wasn't me. She wasn't me."

His arms were around her in a second, wrapping her in a comforting embrace as she clawed at his shirt, her mouth opened in a silent scream.

"Shh." He soothed her hair back. "It's okay. You did what you had to do."

She knew that. Deep down inside, she knew. She just never expected to _like_ it so much, for it to feel so powerful. All the times she condemned Damon for having little conscience or regret and her she was, reveling over the fact that she killed someone. That it was because she was saving Damon and in turn saving herself, didn't make a difference.

"You need blood," she said, pulling back from him, attempting to pull herself together. Her shaking hands pulled down the collar of her shirt and she offered her neck to him. "Take it. Drink from me."

Damon wasn't going to let this go that easily. Whatever she initially felt at defeating Klaus was gone. Now she was coming back to martyr like self and he wasn't going to let her beat herself up. After his initial horror wore off, he understood. Too well. He'd be wrong to hold her up to standards he couldn't ever hope to achieve. He wasn't Stefan. He couldn't put her on a pedestal and expect her not to fall.

Prying her fingers from her shirt, he grasped them in his hands. "Forget the blood and listen to me. You did an incredible thing just now. Crazy and stupid but incredible. It's okay to be happy about killing the big bad. After all the shit he's put us through…put _you_ through, you earned it."

She didn't believe him. He could see it in her guilt-stricken expression, in her defeat-slumped shoulders, in the way she was trying so hard not to look at him.

"Elena-"

"We need to burn the pieces and you still need blood." Her voice sounded hollow and dead to her own ears and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked around her, for the first time noticing that they were the only ones here. "Alice and Victoria? Bella was supposed to..."

Now that they dealt with Klaus and Elena was okay or at least she would be, another fear took hold in him at her words. His body tensed, almost afraid to ask. "Where _is_ Isabella?" When Elena didn't answer right away, he continued, already suspecting the terrible truth. "Please don't tell me the two of you concocted some insane plan, that Bella isn't chasing off after Icky Vicky."

"It didn't sound insane at the time."

"God Damn it!" He stomped his foot on the ground.

"Now, Bella was a tasty morsel." They almost forgot Klaus was still barely alive even if his body was separated into pieces.

"How is it he is still able to talk?" Damon mumbled to himself and turned back to face Elena. It was time to rid the world of Klaus once and for all. "Turn around. Close your eyes. Cover your ears. You did your part. It's time for me to do mine."

"Mark my words, this will haunt you Elena. To take a life so gleefully, even one such as mine, will remain with you for the rest of your days."

"Don't you _ever_ give up, old man?" Damon kicked what was left of the torso towards a leg. "Just _shut up_."

"It will, you know. My face will be the last image you will see before you close your eyes every night."

"No." She took a few steps back. "No."

"It will eat at you every day until the guilt destroys you."

"Don't listen to him, 'Lena. He's just trying to push your buttons."

"She knows I'm right. Don't you, Princess? I can see it in your face."

Elena remained silent. Damon, on the other hand, couldn't resist kicking Klaus' head towards growing pile of limbs like a soccer ball.

"How many times do we have to tell you, she isn't _your_ princess?" he said with a growl. He wished Elena had shot him in the mouth too. Even when he was about to be turned into ash, he was a pain in the ass. "You know most people would be begging for redemption and forgiveness right about now."

"We're not most people though, are we Damon? There is no redemption or forgiveness for soulless creatures like us. Why not enjoy the ride while we can?"

Damon gritted his teeth together. He didn't want Klaus to see that his words struck a dissonant chord within him.

"Don't…don't listen to him. He's wrong." She shook her head at him with wide-eyes.

The only acknowledgment he gave her was a clenching jaw. He fished inside his jeans for the Zippo lighter he tucked back in there. It took a few times for the spark to catch before a flame appeared. "Turn around, Elena. Now!"

When he was satisfied that her back was turned, he tossed the lighter onto what was left of Klaus and watched the flames rise, giving way to purple smoke as Klaus burned, his shrieks piercing the air.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to _fucking_ dust."

A few miles from them, another cloud of purple smoke rose through the treetops.

"Damon, look!" Elena pointed at it. "Do you think-"

"There's only one way to find out." He gripped her elbow, Klaus momentarily forgotten. "C'mon."

"Wait. You still need blood."

"I'll deal."

He was more concerned about Isabella right now. She had a penchant for getting into trouble and a self-sacrificing streak a mile wide. Now that thought was in his head, he propelled them faster through the forest, towards the sweet, repulsive smell of freshly killed cold one. He helped Elena over boulders and hills, disregarding his desperate need for blood.

"She's probably fine Damon," Elena tried to assure him through her own fears. If he lost Bella, she would lose him. She knew it. Something irrevocable would be broken in him. She'd already almost seen it happen once. It was something she never wanted to see again. If he flipped his switch, they would be over. "That's probably Victoria's body burning."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe not for sure but I do know Alice and Bella. You need to believe in them."

Getting his hopes up was out of the question. There were too many times they went against him. He'd rather steel himself for the loss and be wrong than put expectant hope too high and have them doused. No, it was better this way.

They approached a tiny clearing where the remains of a vampire burned. Damon put all his focus to see through the flames. His body slumped in relief. It _was_ Icky Vicky. He could clearly make out the last remnants of red wavy hair.

His hand tightened around Elena's as he scanned the area for any sign of Bella and Alice. Where _were_ they? Could they have gone back to the cabin? No, that didn't make sense. He and Elena were just there. They would've passed them.

"Look." Elena pointed off to the distance.

It was Alice, or at least the back of her. She was kneeling in the dirt, her body shaking.

"No!" Damon dropped Elena's hand and ran forward. The closer he got to her, the more his chest hurt and his throat tightened. He skidded to a halt, a fierce denial roaring past his lips when he was able to make sense of what he was seeing.

It was Isabella. She was so still. There was no rise and fall of her chest, not even a little. No heartbeat that his preternatural hearing could detect. He dropped down hard on his knees, the sound making a distinct crack. It would be okay, he thought. She would wake up, perhaps as one of his kind but she would wake up. He had assured that.

"What _happened_?" His voice was guttural and hoarse and it had nothing to do with the smoke from burning vampire.

Alice couldn't even look at him. She leaned over Bella and gently pulled back her hair to reveal a savage bite mark on her shoulder. "She bit her," she said on a choked sob. "I couldn't get to her in time and she bit her."

"That's not a completely bad thing is it?" Elena, who had just came up to them, said as she looked at her friend lying so still on the ground. "I mean, she has the venom in her, right? Isn't she transitioning? I know she would've preferred it to be not now and by Edward but-" She stopped short when she saw the hopelessness in Alice's ravaged expression.

"You don't understand." She shook her head. "I should be able to see her…_see something_. It's not there!" Alice cried out and hung her head. "It's nothing but a black hole. Her future is completely gone. And so…so is Edward's."

* * *

><p>AN - I apologize for the late update...again. I've had some familial issues to contend with recently and haven't been able to concentrate on this story as much as I would have hoped. The good news is, I am committed to seeing it through to its end. Please review...if you are still there. All comments are appreciated.


	25. The Red Coats Are Comin'

A/N - Sorry if it felt like I disappeared. I had about half this chapter done for a while but have only been able to really sit down and finish until recently. The truth is after being in and out of the hospital for a month, my father-in-law was placed into hospice about two months ago to make him more comfortable as his time neared due to pancreatic cancer. After a three year battle with the disease, he passed away two weeks ago. So that was the reason for my prolonged absence and I hope you all understand. I never meant to desert you.

* * *

><p>"You bitch!" Caroline's hand connected with Rebekah's cheek sending a loud crack reverberating through the morning air.<p>

Her head jerked to the side but she recovered from her shock quickly and fixed Caroline with a cold glare. "If it's a question of my life or theirs, I'll pick mine, _every time_. Obviously, I have more faith in your friends' skills than you do."

"Oh, please." Rosalie rolled her eyes. "That is such crap and you know it. You're just trying to cover your ass now. You wouldn't have said anything at all if Jasper didn't call you on your guilt, which I still find shocking that you felt any at all."

"You have no-"

"You could've told us your Hannibal Lechter of a brother and that red-haired, vamp-shrew went after our friends and instead you said nothing." Planting her hands on her hips, Caroline leaned in close to Rebekah's face with narrowed eyes, and cocked her head to the side. "Makes a girl wonder, whose side you're really on."

Finding no quarter from that direction, Rebekah huffed and decided to change tact to one that always worked for her in the past; Elijah's sympathy, his sense of family. She turned to him with a pout on her face. "Klaus threatened me, said he would tear my limbs off if I didn't give up where they were hiding out. You didn't see his face. He meant every word."

"And I meant mine when I promised that we were all on the same side, fighting for the same cause. In one fell swoop," he sliced the air with his hand and spoke through gritted teeth, "you have rendered my word meaningless. Absolutely meaningless!"

"Your word." Her lips curled into a distasteful sneer. She turned in a circle, taking note of every accusing stare and returned them with one of her own. "You all think you're _so_ perfect, don't you? While you're judging me from high on your ivory pedestals, think about this, if I did tell you, what are the chances any one of you would have gone traipsing off to help them while the rest of us were fighting for our own lives?"

"You never gave us the choice!" Jasper snarled at her, his fists clenched at his sides.

"So go already! No one is stopping you now."

"For your sake, Rebekah, I hope they are unharmed."

"You'd really hurt me, 'Lijah?" Her bottom lip trembled making a liar out of her skeptical tone. "After you spent all those years trying to find me, find _us_, your family, you'd really bury a stake into my heart? Maybe you're not as far removed from Klaus as you'd like everyone to believe."

"I would never harm you. You know that. But that doesn't mean I can stop anyone else, should they wish it."

"I can." Kol moved closer to his sister after seeing Emmett's wide grin as he banged his fist a little too gleefully into his palm. "Finn can too. Unlike dear brother here, we won't let anyone harm you."

"Oh my God, would you all just stop?" Bonnie threw her hands up in exasperation, stirring the air around her and causing a surge of wind. "We're wasting time arguing over this. We need to leave now."

"Alice isn't answering her phone," Jasper had his ear pressed to his cell phone. The more it rang, the more he paced. "Neither is anyone else. Caroline, you, Ric, Stefan and The Mickelsons will go back to the house-"

"No, Jasper." Stefan shook his head. "I'm coming with you. Damon and Bella are my family too and Elena-" He looked down at the ground and swallowed hard. before lifting up his head again, his eyes showing resolve. "I just…need to be there."

Jasper gave a stiff nod. "Okay." He turned toward the tree line with a somber, thoughtful expression on his face and sighed. "Someone is going to have to tell Edward what's going on."

"We'll figure it out," Ric said, going to give him a comforting pat on the back but pulled away at the last moment, realizing he'd probably break his fingers doing so. "Just go. Bring them home."

"No one is going anywhere," a sing-song female voice called out from a distance. "Though, I'd certainly love for you to try."

Heads swiveled towards the direction of the child-like voice. Three cloaked figures approached; their movements so smooth, their footsteps never made a sound on the grass. The small one in the middle stepped ahead of the others. Two pale, delicate hands reached up to peel back the hood that concealed her face. She shook out her blonde hair, her lips curling into a satisfied smirk as she stood before her dumbstruck audience.

"Jane." Jasper was the first to recover from the shock of this ambush. And that is exactly what it was if the near giddiness at catching them unawares was any indication. The signature black and red cloaks immediately identified them as members of the Volturi Guard. He recalled Edward's mention of the small but sadistic Jane, who could cause a vampire immense pain with just one look, not unlike the talent Bonnie had. The other two had yet to reveal themselves. Of course, they chose precisely the worst possible moment to arrive. It had to have been on purpose. There was no warning, no indication of Aro's intent. It made the circumstances seem that much more suspicious.

"My reputation precedes me," she said, pleased. "It's too bad I can't say the same for you."

"Why are you here?" Rosalie stepped forward, evading Emmett's attempts to block her. "Are you giving a personal r.s.v.p. to the wedding invitation?"

"Hardly. We've heard accounts of some disturbances in the area. It seems the concerns were founded."

"We've already cleaned up the mess for you." She waved her hand towards the purple fire already diminishing. "But you already knew that, didn't you? Tell Aro, you're welcome for us would you?"

"You're a brave one aren't you? Be careful how you speak to your superiors."

Rose snorted. "Yeah, okay, Gidget."

Jane ignored her, her gaze flitting over every face, examining, listening, picking them apart, searching for weaknesses she could exploit. A soft wind blew her way and in it something that caused her eyes to narrow. She swiveled her head, glaring at Ric, her lips pulling back over her teeth before settling into a serene smile.

"I see you've acquired another human pet or is that one food?" She cocked her head to the side. "Care to share?"

Ric gulped and took a step backward, his fist tightening on his laser gun that was now out of juice.

"Leave him alone." Bonnie stepped in from of him, shielding him. Her eyes became slits and the air around her feet stirred.

"Look Sister," Alec's lips spread into a malicious grin. "Another one."

"This is a shame. Aro had such high hopes." She tapped her chin. "Hmmm, what to do, what to do?"

"You could leave," Caroline said.

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?"

"Enough!" Elijah's hand sliced the air. "Let's cut to the chase, shall we? We've destroyed the newborns while the three of you sat back and watched. The Volturi owes a debt of favor to everyone here. Do you think Aro would look kindly on your cowardice and laziness?"

"You know nothing."

"Don't test me, little girl. I lived at Volterra centuries before you were even born. I know Aro's gift, what he can see."

"He can't see it, if you never get there to show him."

* * *

><p>Carlisle stared out the wide window, hands clasped behind his back, his eyes darting towards all angles, his ears straining to pick up any distant sound. He heard nothing but the rustle of the trees in the soft wind and the various sounds of the Olympian Peninsula wildlife. Where are they? They should've been back by now.<p>

"You're worried." Edward edged towards his father with a slower than usual gait, gripping his arm, waiting for the venom to fully knit it together.

"Only concerned." He gave a small smile meant to reassure. "How's your arm?"

"It hurts but it's getting better. I'd forgotten what physical pain feels like."

"You should be resting it. It will take longer to heal if you keep jostling it around despite the bandage."

"And you're trying to change the subject. They should be back by now, shouldn't they? That's what I heard in your thoughts."

Carlisle gave a defeated sigh and with it his shoulders slumped. "Yes," he said, his focus remaining locked on the window. "Perhaps they were held up. Bonnie and Ric are human. They don't move as fast as we do."

"But you don't think so."

"No."

"Then what are we waiting for? The sooner we know what's holding them up, the sooner I can get Bella."

The longer they waited, the more Carlisle's concern grew. Someone would've contacted them by now. "I'll go. You should stay here."

"I'm coming with you."

"You're arm, it-"

"Either we go together or I'm just going to follow right after you."

"Alright," Carlisle said with a hesitant nod. "Let's go."

As they walked closer to the clearing, voices reached them, angry voices.

"The Volturi." Edward looked at his father with wide, horrified eyes.

Carlisle broke into a run with Edward following behind, unable to move as quickly. They were met with a scene they all had been trying to avoid. A standoff between their family and allies and three Volturi guards.

Jane was getting ready to act, to impart her power right onto Elijah. He had no idea what he was in for.

"Elijah, move!" Edward shouted out.

It was Bonnie that stepped forth; her gaze steady, sure and volatile and it was aimed right at Jane.

A shriek pierced the air as Jane convulsed and fell to her knees. Bonnie pulled her power back and approached the girl, watching her with deep satisfaction as she writhed on the ground.

"Don't mess with a Bennett Witch, bitch."

"What did you do to my sister?" Alec reached down to help Jane up but his eyes never wavered from Bonnie, his expression both angered and fearful.

"It's called Karma and it's the same thing I will do to you if you don't back the hell off."

Jane stumbled back into her brother's embrace, her small body still trembling with the after effects, her stance no longer confident.

"You'll pay for this. You'll _all_ pay. Attacking a member of the guard is a grievous offense, an act of aggression."

"Since I don't bow down prostrate to the throne of the Volturi, I'm not worried."

"You were going on the attack, Jane," Carlisle reminded her. "Self defense is hardly an act of aggression."

"Ah, so the Cullen patriarch finally deems to make an appearance and Edward, so lovely to see you again. The last time was so memorable."

"What is your purpose here?"

"We came to take care of the little problem but imagine our surprise when we found a much bigger one; vampires consorting with humans, wolves," she turned to Bonnie with a sneer, "and witches."

"All of whom took care of your little problem for you, wouldn't you say?" Edward stepped forward, trying not to wince, trying not to show weakness, despite his arm hanging at an odd angle.

"Regardless, the law is the law."

"Really?" Carlisle asked. "I disagree. We didn't break any laws. The wolves have known for centuries that we've existed. Witches too."

"And the human?" Alec nodded towards Ric.

"He's known before he knew of us. His wife was a vampire; a Nocturnal."

"It doesn't matter how he knows or if you're responsible for that knowledge or not. We have our rules."

"Hmm, that may be but it is not you to decide and judge. Aro does not give you that authority. Try to take it and the odds are not in your favor."

"Is that a threat, Edward?"

"No." Edward shook his head, pursing his lips. "Not a threat."

Jane seemed to realize they were outnumbered and overpowered. "Fine. We will leave for now but I would expect to hear from Aro very soon."

"I would expect nothing less," Carlisle said, his tone breathing relief.

No one dared to say a word, not in relief, nor in victory until the Volturi guard members retreated from view, into the morning mist, as quickly as they came.

* * *

><p>Damon was on his knees, smoothing his hands up and down Bella's alabaster cheeks, trying to force color back into them. The sound of Elena's tears behind him barely registered into what was left of his conscious mind, so intent on his task. Tears slipped down off his jaw, splashing onto Bella's face.<p>

"Don't do this to me, Isabella. You have to wake up." He searched for a sign of life, for anything to tell him that she heard him. There was nothing. He sniffled and pressed his palms against either side of her scalp and gave her head a slight shake. _God damn it_, Isabella. Wake up. Wake up!"

"Damon, don't-" Elena gave him a gentle tug but he wrenched his arm away.

He stumbled on his knees away from her, clawing at the ground, chest heaving as he tried to bring himself to a standing position. It felt like his legs didn't want to hold him, that the earth was shaking beneath his feet.

"This is not happening." Damon scrubbed his hand down his face, trying very hard not to look at the still figure of his sister, pale and lifeless. "This is not happening. Try harder, Alice."

"I don't know what you want me to do!"

"Something." He knelt down beside her again, his blue eyes bloodshot and angry. "Anything."

"Damon, it's too-"

"No, Elena. Don't. Do not tell me to give up on her. I won't. I _can't_."

"She should be moving, screaming in pain," Alice explained, her voice very quiet in her devastation. "The burning would be taking over everything. It's not. It's almost like she's not even here." She pressed her ear to Bella's chest, her eyes darting back and forth as she listened.

"What are you doing?"

"Shh, I hear something." For a few minutes, while Damon and Elena watched with hope, Alice listened before sitting back up again. her brow marred with confusion. "This is wrong. All wrong. I don't understand."

"What?"

"She has a heartbeat. Very faint, very slow...about once every two minutes."

"That's a good sign, isn't it?" Elena's voice was optimistic.

"That's not what is supposed to happen. Her heart is supposed to speed up, not slow down."

"Where did that bitch bite her? Maybe that has something to do with it." Damon pulled Bella's collar down, with impatient fingers, looking for the source of the blood that soaked her collar.

"It's right-" Alice pointed and leaned in, examining Bella's neck where the bite mark should be. "What the hell? It's gone. It's healed. But how?" It only took her a few moments to put the pieces together and once she did, she was furious. She whirled to face Damon, her eyes narrowing to slits with accusation. "What did you do?" she screeched at Damon. "What did you do?"

Damon's eyes widened in horror, the bitter taste of bile lodged in his throat. No. This wasn't happening.

Elena was slowly backing away, her hand covering her mouth as her head shook in denial. "You didn't. Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

"I was trying to protect her...I thought-"

"You gave her your blood?"

"In a Bloody Mary that was more bloody than Mary. She had no idea."

"From the same batch you gave me?" Elena's lips compressed into a thin line, the sting of betrayal sharp on her face. "No - don't. I already know the answer. How could I ever think-"

"Damn it, 'Lena," Damon said with a frustrated yank on his hair. "I needed an insurance policy. I couldn't let anything happen to either of you that you couldn't come back from."

"You just can't help yourself can you? I can't believe you took away my choices...again."

"And I would keep doing it if it meant you would stay alive."

Elena nodded her head towards Bella, tears slipping down her cheeks. "It doesn't seem to have worked out so well for Bella, does it?"

"Save the lovers quarrel for later, both of you. We need to bring her back. Maybe Carlisle has heard of this happening before. Maybe he'll know what to do."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then we pray."


	26. Awakenings

Forty eight hours later, Bella's condition still hadn't changed. She remained silent and still like Snow White after biting the poison apple but true love's kiss would not awaken her. Edward kept vigil at her bedside, ears and eyes attune to any change. There was none.

He had been seething in quiet rage and held prison by desperate fear the moment he saw Damon carrying her across the field, his face long and drawn, filled with a thousand regrets, followed by a somber Alice and Elena. At first all he could hear was the mumbled cacophony of their thoughts, merged and combined, completely indistinguishable from each other. Their lips remained still, their voices silent.

Alice had looked at him with eyes wide like saucers, Elena's eyes never strayed from the limp form in Damon's arms and Damon wouldn't look at him at all.

Bella was dead. She was dead and soon he would be too.

"NO!" Alice had shouted at him.

A few moments after that he had found out why. If it hadn't been for Bella gathered in Damon's arms, he would have crushed him, he still wanted to. Yet, if Bella came out of this...when she came out of this, she would never forgive him for harming her brother. That was the only thing that saved him.

"Any change?"

Edward turned and focused his bleary eyes on Esme, who stood in the door way with motherly concern tainting her eyes and fingers fidgeting with her blouse.

"No," he said, his voice gruff.

Leaning against the door frame, she gently pushed herself off and came into the room. She stopped at the head of the bed and straightened the sheet around Bella before soothing back her hair and placing a kiss on her smooth forehead.

"Have Emmett and Rose returned with any news?"

Carlisle hadn't found any reference to such a phenomenon in all his thick tomes so Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jasper were going to leave on a mission to find out if there was information on anyone else ever bitten by a cold one that had a nocturne's blood in their system.

"Not yet. Rebekah and Elijah went with them. They dispersed in two separate teams to cover more ground."

"For God's sake, why? I would've thought they'd all be long gone by now, trailing after Finn and Kol. They were in such a hurry to leave. Especially Rebekah."

Esme shrugged. "To try to make up for her betrayal, I suppose. To get back in Elijah's good graces. The desire for forgiveness, like the capacity to love, is a human trait that doesn't die with the other human parts of us."

"I don't see how assisting us would reflect on her relationship with her brother."

"For all the bad you may think about him, he values his word and his sister betrayed that. You've been otherwise occupied but he was pretty harsh with her."

"Do you really think they could help?" He had his doubts.

"They've been around a long time, made quite a few valuable connections. They can also compel. We don't want the Volturi catching wind of what's happening with Bella especially given our recent narrow escape."

"True." Edward was in no mood to argue. He wasn't going to deny help where he needed it. If Rebekah betrayed them again, she would not escape his wrath so easily.

"Speaking of forgiveness, Damon wants to be here...by Bella's side."

"Has he sobered up yet or does he still have a bottle of bourbon attached to his mouth?"

"It's not like you're giving him much incentive to stop."

Esme's voice was a gentle reprimand but he still couldn't shake his anger, didn't want to. It was all that was keeping him from falling apart.

"How he chooses to spend his time in regret has nothing to do with me."

"You're being too hard on him. I've kept quiet to respect your pain but this has to stop. It's not what Bella would want."

"She didn't _want_ this!" Edward shouted and buried his face in his hands with a derisive chuckle. "Not yet, anyway." He sucked in a deep breath of air and with a shake of his head he lifted his gaze to meet his mother's. "She changed her mind. After graduation. She wanted more time...to let Charlie see her graduate college - as a human. Now it's gone...her choice, if she..." He shook his head again. "It's just gone... taken from her."

"Oh, Edward." Esme clasped him to her in a tight motherly embrace. "I'm so sorry...but this isn't Damon's fault. Surely, you must see that. Victoria is the one that stole her choice."

"Yes, the blame is Victoria's." He was willing to begrudgingly concede that point. "But if he hadn't interfered, we would know what we're dealing with here. We don't_ know_. She could be dying, the combination of venom and vampire blood too much for her body to take...we just don't know. And that's all Damon."

"The last thing he would ever want to do is hurt Bella. Deep down under your fear, your anger, you know that."

"But that's exactly what he did."

"I know you're furious right now and with good reason but can you honestly look back and say you have a stellar record when it comes to acting without really thinking things through, that _you_ haven't acted rashly, doing what _you_ thought was right to protect the one you love, taken Bella's choices away from her...to protect her with nearly the same disastrous results?"

"This is different."

"No, it's really not. Besides, it's not really your decision whether Damon should be allowed to be with Bella. You _know_ that she would forgive him, that she would want him here. _That_ would be her choice. Don't take that one away from her too."

* * *

><p>If he had one more pot of coffee and one more blood bag, he was going to explode, much like that stupid gum chewing character, Violet from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, nearly did. He was sober, maybe even too sober if there was such a thing. They had confiscated his liquor, even the secret stash he thought he kept well hidden. When had become so predictable?<p>

He was being left alone for the most part to wallow in his misery, except for the few times they had to physically restrain him from barging into the room that Sparkle Pants forbade him to enter. Who gave him exclusive rights to decide if he should see his sister? No one, that's who. If Jasper hadn't interfered with his mind melding mojo and his own conscience creeping in, telling him that it wouldn't be healthy for Isabella to hear the fighting, if she could hear anything at all, he would've fought harder, forced his way through hours ago.

It would be a cold day in hell before he would ever forget the way Edward all but ripped Isabella from his arms like he was the enemy incarnate. The sad truth was, he only had marginal regrets about spiking Bella's bloody mary with his blood. If he could rewind the clock, he wasn't sure if he would make a different choice.

Isabella would be fine. She had to be. That's all there was to it. Any other alternative was just not acceptable. Just because no one knew how this would turn out, didn't mean it was a bad thing. At least, that's what he was trying to convince himself of. The reality was he just wasn't sure. To believe his sister wouldn't survive was unthinkable, not after everything she'd been through. It was a bitter irony that he could barely think of anything else.

"Screw this," Damon said pushing himself off the couch. He was sick of being treated like the red-headed step child. It was time to attempt another visit upstairs and if anyone tried to stop him, well they were going to be in for a surprise. Now that he was sober, he wouldn't be so easy to thwart. And by God, Edward better let him in. He was done waiting for the almighty to grant him leniency. He was Damon Salvatore, damn it. It was time to start acting like him again.

"Where are you going?"

Startled that he hadn't even noticed here there, he pivoted on his heel towards her. "Oh, now you stoop to talk to me 'Lena? I'm going to see Isabella, if you must know. Please don't get my way."

"I wasn't going to. For the record, I never thought it was fair they wouldn't let you see her."

"So, now you decide to say something? You couldn't do that earlier? Defend your boyfriend...that is, if I am still your boyfriend. You seemed to be pretty darn cozy with your ex earlier. Are trying to rekindle the flame?"

"Don't lash out at me because you're hurt and you're angry. I don't deserve it."

He snorted. "Yeah, I forgot. You're the only one allowed to get angry in this relationship. After all, I'm the only one who makes impulsive decisions."

"That's not fair."

"Yeah, well life's not fair. If it were, Isabella wouldn't be hovering between life and death because of something I only did to protect her. It sucks but that's how it is."

"Damon." She approached him with weary, sorrowful eyes and laid her hand over his heart. "Don't do this to yourself."

"Why shouldn't I? After all, I'm just jumping on the same "pin the blame on Damon" bandwagon that everyone is on...including you."

"I was angry at you, yes, at first, when you told us what you did but not anymore."

"What changed your mind?"

"I love you." She cupped his cheek with the palm of her hand, forcing him to maintain eye contact. "That means I have to accept you...all of you, even if I don't understand or agree all the time. Doing everything and anything to ensure the safety of the ones you love, as small a circle as that is, is as much a part of you as your snarky ass nicknames for everybody. I knew that before getting involved with you and as contradictory as it sounds, it's one of the reasons I fell in love with you in the first place."

"You fell in love with me for my snarky ass nicknaming habits?"

"Will you be serious?"

"So, what are you saying? That you forgive me? Even if that were you upstairs, even though you said you never want to be a vampire?"

"Yes. I'm also saying I'm not as opposed to the idea as I used to be. Not now," she amended with wide-eyes, seeing the shocked look on his face. "I mean in the future, after I've had a few more human years, after we...if we decide...you know, that..."

"This is forever," he finished for her.

"Yeah," she said with a soft smile. "Something like that."

As far as Damon was concerned it _was_ forever but he understood her hesitation...to a degree. He hadn't exactly lived a celibate lifestyle nor a monogamous one in many, years since Sage had convinced him to embrace being who and what he was.

"Come upstairs with me?" He held his hand out to her, a peace offering and plea for support at the same time. She took it, entwining her fingers with his.

As they made their way down the quiet corridor of the top floor, Damon half-expected someone to jump out from behind a closed door and stop him. With fists clenched and body geared for fight, he was prepared. No one stopped him, however. Not yet.

"Should we knock?" Elena asked when they came to Edward's door.

"Pffft. No. I'm sure Sparky knows we're here. Isn't that right, Sparky?"

A long suffering sigh was heard from behind the door.

"Told ya," Damon said as he twisted the knob.

"You should see her alone, in private, Damon," Elena said for Edward's benefit, hoping he'd get the hint. "I'll wait here until you're ready," she added in a quiet tone.

Damon squeezed her hand and went through the door, closing it behind him. He was met with the sight of Esme and Edward sitting bedside, obscuring his view of Bella. Esme smiled at him as she stood up and patted Edward's shoulder.

"I'll leave you two alone so you can talk. Play nice."

Damon approached the bed slowly once Esme left and sank onto the chair she just vacated, his eyes inspecting every inch of Isabella's still form, looking for any sign of life. Her dark lashes fanned out against pale skin. Lips that were usually pink, remained bloodless. There was no tell-tale rising of the sheets covering her to signify the inhaling and exhaling of breath.

The stillness wasn't untypical of a transformation for his kind. They were usually quiet, sedated affairs. Death then undead life, with a corpse like sleep in between. But this wasn't a typical transformation, if it was a transformation at all. No phoenix amulet adorned her bare neck. It was gone. Damon prayed that with it, hope was not gone as well. They could all be waiting for her to wake up only to realize that day would never come.

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?" Edward's voice was gruff, dark, defeated. His fingers never strayed from their caress of Bella's palm.

"Alice mentioned your change was different, more painful, that it doesn't look like this."

Edward was silent for a few moments, thinking. Bowing his head, body stiffening with the memory, he began to speak, his dark and low. "It feels like your whole body, each organ, each cell, every vein, every pore is bursting and going up in flames from the inside out. You can't help but scream, flail and writhe just to get away from the feeling but it never comes. For three days it goes on like that until suddenly it stops. Then the only burning you feel in in your throat, the mad thirst for blood and lots of it. The hunger is insatiable."

He was sorry he asked. No wonder why Alice had been so evasive with her answer when he asked her the same thing. She wanted to spare him. Sparkles, of course, wasn't going to offer him the same luxury.

"So." Edward cleared his throat and cast a sideways glance in Damon's direction. "I don't like to admit I'm wrong-"

"No shit, Sherlock."

"…very often," he finished, ignoring Damon's comment. "I overreacted like I usually do when it comes to Bella's welfare. I should've realized you were doing the same. It was wrong of me to shut you out and I'm sorry."

"I bet you those words hurt on the way back up. Are they yours or Mom's? You know what? I don't care. Hearing you say that you're wrong and you're sorry in the same breath with a straight face is enough for me."

"You don't know how to accept an apology graciously, do you?"

Not in this buddy, Damon thought. He didn't forgive or forget so easily.

"Not usually, no. You granted Steffie free access. That stings."

"He wasn't the one that fed his sister his blood masquerading as cocktail."

"Because he's not as creative as I am. Now are you going to give me time alone with my sister?"

Damon saw the indecision warring in Edward's eyes before he stood up and placed a soft kiss on Isabella's forehead.

"If anything-"

"Yeah, yeah." Damon waved his hand, dismissing him. "If anything changes, I'll sound the alarm."

The door closing behind him only offered the illusion of privacy. There was none to be had in this house but he'd take what little he could get and go with it. He didn't have anything to hide. Not today, anyway.

"Looks like it's just me and you, Piccola – finally. I would've been here sooner but the glitter goon squad led by you-know-who kept me away…said I screwed up, punished me by banning me. And I suppose I did, screw up, I mean but don't tell anyone that. That'll be our secret.

"I have to be honest, with you, Isabella, this whole Sleeping Beauty thing you have going on, well it's kind of scaring the crap out of me, just so you know. Anytime you want to wake up and tell me to shut the hell up, feel free."

Damon sat back, waiting breathlessly for any change, any sign that she was going to awaken. Pools of sunlight danced on her face, giving the appearance of animation where there was none. It was growing increasingly difficult not to let hopeless thoughts seep in.

Those thoughts were squashed immediately. They had no place here in this room. He would not allow his dark emotions taint this sanctuary even if faith was a hard commodity to come by.

He abruptly stood up and walked to vast window, staring out at the evergreens and the midday sun. Down below Bonnie was showing Wolf Boy what was in her bag of magic tricks and Caroline and Stefan were perched on a fallen log, heads bent together having what looked to be an intense conversation. Stefan was sucking up all the sympathy while he was thrown all the blame. Typical.

Life was moving forward, continuing and he hated it. Hated that Isabella was stuck, immobile, trapped in her own body and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Hated that so much was unknown. Hated that he hadn't been the one to kill Victoria himself.

Bowing his head against the glass, he clenched his eyes shut, concentrating on not being consumed by his own failings.

_"Stop…."_

The voice was so quiet, like a gentle whisper on a breeze, he was so sure he imagined it.

"Bella?" Damon whirled around, eyes wide.

He stared at her for what felt like an eternity, too afraid to move. There was no change, not even a flutter of an eyelid.

"Great. I'm hearing things now." He chuckled derisively to himself. "I must be going nuts…certifiably nuts. What's next, a padded room, a nifty white coat with the buttons up the back?"

_"Black leather."_

"What?" Now he knew for sure he was going crazy. He heard her. It was Isabella's voice yet her lips remained still.

_"Black leather straight jacket."_

The voice wasn't just in his head. It _couldn't_ be. It was _her_. From whatever place she was stuck in, she was trying to reach him.

"You're trying to come back to me…to us, aren't you, Piccola?"

Blowing out a breath, he picked up her delicate but cold hand, wrapping both of his hands around it. It didn't seem so fragile and breakable as before. Under the soft layer of her skin, there was a hardness that hadn't been there before. He traced his fingers up her arm, pressing the tips down lightly, his brows drawing together in confusion. Everywhere he touched, was the same, like permeable flesh over stone.

"Come on Isabella. You can do it. I'm right here."

The door crashed open with a bang. Edward stood there wild eyed, a cell phone clasped in his hand with Alice's distinct yelling coming through the receiver.

Damon never took his eyes off Bella. "She's coming back. I can hear her."

Edward stalked forward, assessing Bella with his eyes for any change. "What do you mean you can hear her?"

"She spoke to me in my head."

"Are you sure you weren't hearing things?"

"Does a vampire suck blood? Yes, Doubting Thomas, of course I'm sure." He wasn't going to tell them he was questioning his own sanity minutes ago.

_"Stop."_

"See!" Damon pointed at Isabella, a broad smile widening on his face. "Did you hear that?"

Edward heard it but couldn't wrap his head around it. It was the sweetest, most welcome sound he ever heard. After two days of silence, he could hear her voice again.

"Bella, love. It's Edward. Can you hear me? Are you in pain?"

_"Something's happening…I can't…"_

"Bella?" Edward's voice cracked as he shook her gently. There was no response, nothing. "Carlisle!" he shouted, desperate confusion clinging to his voice.

A series of footsteps clamored up the stairs. Carlisle shouldered his way into the room, his black medical bag in his hand just in case. Stefan forced his way in behind him. Everyone else stood hovered in the doorway, watching, praying.

"Some room, please." Carlisle told both Edward and Damon as he began removing items from his bag and placing them neatly on the bed, near Bella's legs. "What's going on?"

Damon briefly explained hearing her voice, the changes he felt in her arms. Carlisle nodded once and continued his examination, his thoughts and his face giving nothing away.

"Alice saw her coming back to us," Edward admitted while he watched Carlisle work.

"What exactly could she see?"

"It was fuzzy," Alice's voice, calmer now, came in through the phone. Edward put her on speaker so everyone could hear her. "I can't tell you any more than that."

"Can't or won't, Gidget?"

"It's not that easy, Damon. I don't know what I'm seeing enough to explain it. We're on our way back now. I have to call Rose and tell them."

"Did you find out anything?" Stefan asked.

"I'm sorry. It looks like Bella is one of kind. I…have to go. I'll see you soon."

"She knows something," Damon said when she hung up the phone.

"We can't worry about that now."

"Why not?"

"Because Bella's eyes are beginning to move. Give her some room." Carlisle got up, urging Edward, Damon and Stefan to move back. None of them did. "We don't know what she is going to do. This is uncharted territory, unprecedented. Now stand back. Please."

For minutes they all watched as Bella's eyes darted under closed lids like she was submersed in a REM state. The rest of her remained motionless. Her fingers began to twitch, curl and clench but her inner voice remained silent. Without warning her back arched off the bed and her mouth opened in a gasp like she was taking her first breath after being under water.

"Bella?" Edward ignored his father's urging for space and stepped closed to the bed, reaching out a trembling hand to touch her. His fingers skated over her arm and he pulled back immediately in shock. She was still warm. Colder than normal but still warm. How was that possible? Did Carlisle know this already? He had to have. He just examined her.

Before he could open his mouth to let his questions tumble out, Bella's eyes snapped open, her chocolate brown, human eyes.

* * *

><p>AN - Thank you so much for not losing patience with me. Please review if you wish to let me know what you think. They are all appreciated.


	27. I Will Follow

The burn from invisible flames licked at her skin from the inside out. She was aware of everything but knew nothing. Time lost relevance with no means to measure it. Voices swirled in the distance, begging at her, pleading with her. She remained silent, desperate to find her own voice but unable to summon the strength though the will was there.

How did she find herself here in this place, this dark burning abyss? Memories remained elusive, foggy and blurred. No matter how hard she tried to grasp at them with invisible hands, they eluded her. Voices became more distinct and every sound magnified. Leather crunched, chairs groaned, rain sprayed against glass like rapid gunfire and a wind's whispered kiss amplified to a banshee howl.

One voice carried to her now, dark with remorse and self-loathing. She knew that deep timbre, its self-deprecating cadence. Damon. He was scared, desperately so. Scared for her. Whatever was happening to her, she knew he wasn't to blame. He couldn't be. She didn't know much but she knew that.

Pulling from a reserve of strength she wasn't aware existed, Bella reached out to him, desperate to make a connection.

He heard her. She had to make him hear her again.

The room exploded in a cacophony of sound so loud, she felt each vibration course through her. Arguing and fear tinged with hope railed at her. Something was touching her, probing her. Slowly the pain, the burn began to recede and in its place, ice turned her veins making a crackling sound.

Terror. Something was happening, something unnatural and wrong. It shouldn't be like this.

Bella fought hard with the need to awaken. She struggled against the weight of her eyelids, forcing them open. Faces hovered over her, staring intently. Her eyes focused on a pair of confused, fearful amber colored eyes. Edward.

He looked tired, so very tired. His face was drawn, purplish bruising marred the skin under his eyes and his hair pulled in every direction.

"I said stand back, Edward."

She recognized that it was Carlisle speaking, yet the worried tone didn't match the usually calm demeanor of man she knew. Was his fear for her or _of_ her?

Edward refused to listen. He approached her like one would a wounded animal, his movements slow and measured. His fingers trembled as his hand reached out, ever so slowly to her. She tracked his movements as he came closer to her face, every miniscule line, every flaw, every pore, every tiny follicle clearly visible where it had never been before.

And she knew, perhaps for the first time with absolute clarity, what she had become. It seemed no matter what she had decided, what time limit she put on it, the fates had conspired to make her a vampire sooner than she wanted. Her decision to delay had been in vain.

"Bella? How do you feel?" Edward's fingers lightly skated down her cheek, finally making contact. His fingers still felt cold, not as icy but still not the same temperature she was. That was odd. She expected him to feel warm now that she was one of them.

Everyone was silent, waiting for a reaction, for something to happen. All the air seemed to have been sucked from the room, leaving nothing but silence in its wake. They were waiting for her answer.

"I'm…I'm not quite sure," she said in a voice that was more melodic than the one she was used to hearing come from her mouth. Carlisle was staring at her and she knew he was waiting for her to elaborate. The problem was she didn't know if she could.

"Are you in any pain?" Carlisle came forward but still remained a safe distance away. His eyes seemed to examine where his hands would not.

"I don't think so…" She shook her head. "No. But I feel…weird…and hungry." Heat ignited her cheeks at the admission lending further proof to her that something was not quite right. She cupped her face with her palms, her face startled, and her jaw slacking in surprise.

"You're cheeks," Edward said in amazement. His hand briefly touched the corner of her eye. "Your eyes-"

"What about my eyes?" she asked, her voice shrill with panic. She didn't like the way he was looking at her, inspecting her more like, as if she were a science experiment or an oddity.

"They are…the same."

"The _same_?" Her eyes darted around trying to find a mirror or any surface that could reveal her refelction. "Not red? Not butterscotch?"

How can this be? Her hearing, her sight were magnified to the point where she was met with astonishment and surprise with every turn of her head. The rising fire in her throat told her she was ravenous, the need for blood steadily building. Was she not finished? Was she destined to live life as a half vampire?

_What am I?_

Damon snorted. Bella snapped her focus to him.

"Isn't it obvious by now?" Tired of waiting, he shouldered through to reach her, ignoring everyone else's protests. His chest puffed and a victorious smile split his face. "You're one of us. A Nocturne."

"How can that be? Victoria-" Her hand flew to her shoulder, probing for the wound that wasn't there any longer.

He leaned down to her, staring directly into her wary brown gaze. "You had my blood in your system. See?" Damon touched her arm and they both watched her skin give under the pressure, watching the blood under the skin pool and shift. "Flesh and blood, soft. Not like the Statue of David over here."

"Not completely," she said, correcting him, watching his smile fade.

"She's neither." Rose burst through the door with relish, the triumph of having knowledge no one else had brightening her face. "She's a hybrid."

The room erupted with denials and questions at Rose's proclamation. Bella clamped her hands over her ears, rocking back and forth, the hunger getting worse. Her skin itched hot, like she had thousands of tiny ants crawling on her. She felt a clawing need to get out, to disappear...to run. She had to leave.

A loud crash of glass gave way to pin drop silence as everyone stopped and stared at the broken window and the shards of glass left behind with tiny droplets of blood. It only took one look, one silent communication between Stefan and Damon before they jumped out the window after her.

Edward ran after them, only stopping for a second as he straddled the broken window, ready to jump out. He turned to his shocked family who stood mouths agape with worry and fear. "Everyone else stay here."

"Find her, Edward," Esme said, pleading. "Find her and bring her home."

He nodded once, expression grim, jaw tight and with that, he was gone, leaving nothing but the soft summer breeze behind him.

With the sound of broken glass crunching under his feet, Carlisle watched his son disappear into the line of trees, his worry growing exponentially. He plucked a blood tinged shard of the window from the floor and held up to eyes, examining it before herding everyone from the room.

Was it possible? Could Rose be right? Was Bella a hybrid carrying a blend of attributes from both types of vampires? His only clue was the blood she left behind, leaving clear evidence that she was not a full cold one. He wanted desperately to analyze the blood more fully to see if it had traces of venom, to see if it shared the same qualities as Caroline's blood but the sound of Jasper clearing his throat quite loudly reminded him, his family needed his attention right now.

* * *

><p>Edward ran, following the scents, trying to keep his panic at bay. It was difficult. The fear, the worry, escalating with each unneeded breath. Would she appease her hunger with a human before they had a chance to stop her? She'd be grief stricken, drowning with a guilt she may never be able to come back from if that happened. Was she scared? Confused? He could pummel Rosalie for bursting in the room like that, making her brash announcement. It had sent Bella over the edge, both literally and figuratively. If only he could turn back the hands of time.<p>

It wasn't long before he managed to catch up to Damon and Stefan. He could hear them arguing over which way she might've gone.

"I'm telling you, she went this way." Damon pointed in the direction of the river.

"What if she went towards the town?"

"She's not you, Stefan. She won't be a ripper. It's not in her nature so just stop comparing."

"Bella went towards the mountain," Edward said, coming upon them.

"And how do you know?"

"I would know her scent anywhere."

"Okay, Boy Scout Bob, let's go then. If she really is a mixture of both then she may be in transition, which means we don't have much time to find her."

"What does that mean?"

"What Damon is trying to say is Bella needs blood. If she doesn't get in within a reasonable amount of time, she will not complete the transition process and she will get weaker and she will die."

"And if the hunger grows unbearable, it won't matter to her if she gets it from Bambi or from that pop-tart, Jessica Stanley - which come to think about it, may not be such a bad thing."

* * *

><p>Bella had no idea how long or how fast she ran. Her only her guide was the slow descent the sun made across the sky. She just knew she had to get away. She knew it was wrong to run but nothing was as it was supposed to be, as she expected it to be, it became too much and she panicked.<p>

Sound, sight, emotions, everything was magnified. And the hunger pelted at her, a burning, living thing inside her, making her suffer, making her weak. She stopped, feeling dizzy, weak, her body running out of steam. How could that be? That's when she heard it, distinct amongst the rustling of trees, the songs of the summer birds, the babbling of a nearby stream.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. The heartbeat was steady, the prey unaware. She could hear the gush of the blood as it rushed through veins, feeding life to every cell. The scent called to her. No longer metallic with the ability to make her nauseous, this was sweet, savory and begging to be devoured.

Her fingernails dug into the bark of the tree, indenting it as she watched. She felt a hard pull on her gums, and a piercing on her lip, drawing her own blood. She could taste it as it hit her tongue. Fangs! She had fangs. Tentatively, she touched them, flinching as one pierced her skin. The small wound closed almost immediately as if it never happened.

A rustle of a bush alerted her that her prey was on the move. She stalked it through the foliage with stealth, relishing in how primal she felt, like an animal huntress. A branch snapped under her feet. The prey's heart beat picked up pace, his head stiff and alert as his eyes darted about, looking for the threat.

Bella knew she could wait no more. In one swift move she launched herself into the air and onto his back. He struggled to wrench her off but Bella hung tight with her knees and thighs locked around him with a vice like grip. His neck craned, trying to use his own teeth to bite her even as he bucked under her.

They went down, rolling on the carpet of grass and rocks, wrestling for dominance. Bella was enjoying the fight but enough was enough. She needed to feed. With lips bared and pulled back over her teeth, she sunk her fangs into the warm neck with a cat-like growl and drank seep.

Her cheeks suctioned as her teeth pulled every last drop of blood, exsanguinating the poor creature. She could feel its thick, warm texture sluice down her throat, coating it, satisfying that deep ache of hunger inside her, making her stronger with each swallow. It tasted sweet and tangy and probably a bit like the last meal he had before she pounced on him.

When it was over and the mountain lion was dead, Bella rolled over onto her back. The sun's weak rays cut through the trees and onto her, illuminating her pale skin. Looking down at her bare arm, she noticed a slight shimmer, nothing as noticeable as Edward or the rest of the Cullens had but it was there; a light dusting of glitter that could just as easily be mistaken for glittering body lotion that one could find at any drug store chain.

The shimmer of her skin began to burn then, puckering the skin pink. She snatched her arm from the direct rays of the sun and into the shadows with a pained hiss.

Clap, clap, clap.

Bella was up in an instant, all thoughts fleeing, positioning her body to fight. She scanned her surroundings until they fell upon Damon clapping his hands while Edward and Stefan stood beside him.

Her body slumped with relief even as she backed up slowly, unsure of what reaction she would receive. She used the back of her hand to wipe away any remnants of blood that may have been still on her lips while her other hand dusted at the twigs and leaves attached to her clothes.

She needn't have worried about their reactions though. Edward was watching her, his pupils dilated with lust, his body tightened with need. Watching her stalk her prey, seeing her wrestle with it was the most sensually riveting sight he had ever seen. His fear was instantly replaced with desire. He tried to temper it down. There was still too much to be said, to be discussed before satisfying his wanton cravings.

Edward rushed to her side, embracing her. "Are you okay? You had us so worried when you left."

"I was just so hungry and then Rosalie….it was too much."She bit her lip and looked up guiltily. "Is Esme really pissed about the window?"

"No." Edward smiled against her hair. "She's not pissed. How are you now? Still hungry?"

"A bit. I made a mess, huh?" She down at her ripped clothes and back over her shoulder and frowned at the lion's carcass she left on the ground.

"Well, I for one am highly impressed," Damon said. "You executed that with just the right amount of Salvatore flourish. Bravo!"

"Umm…thanks? I think."

"Come, Piccola, don't be so modest. You owned that mountain lion. The pretty kitty had no idea it met its match. Still, not a very good substitute for human. I doubt you'd still be hungry if you had some authentic O pos in your system."

"Damon," Stefan warned. "Stop. Just because you have no issue with taking a human life doesn't mean you can apply your lack of standards to everybody."

"Ouch." Damon clutched his chest and stumbled backwards in mock offense. "You wound me, brother."

_Would you two cut it out already!_

All three pairs of eyes snapped to her, widening like saucers.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted." She hung her head down, her hair falling forward to curtain her face from view.

Edward's finger grazed under her chin, tilting it up to meet his gaze. "But you didn't. Your mouth never moved."

"How is that possible? All of you heard me."

"We should go back to the house. Maybe Carlisle can shed some light for us."

Her face bloomed with color. "I'm not quite full yet."

"Okay , then. One more. Damon, Stefan, why don't the two of you go back to the house and tell everyone we found Bella? I'll take her hunting."


	28. Return to Witch Mountain

Putting his own questions and worries aside, Edward spent the next few hours showing Bella how to hunt, the different tracks and scents of each animal that made its habitat in the area. He tried schooled her in which animal tasted the best, the closest to human blood but she insisted on finding out for herself instead of learning from his experience. Her stubborn nature stayed intact.

There were things that worried him though, made him fear for her. Her speed, as a newborn, should've been more pronounced. She should've been able to outrun him but she couldn't. She stayed to the shadows, the cover of the trees, careful not to stray into direct sunlight, like the sun would harm her. More than any other difference he marked though was her unusual self-control when it came to blood lust. It was a phenomenal anomaly. Her other emotions, however, seemed to heighten and intensify.

Still, she was extraordinary, so unlike anything or anyone he had ever seen, vampire or human. Her cheeks still blushed with color and her skin was still soft and pliable to the touch and nearly as warm as it once was. It was hard for him to reconcile that she was a vampire at all. At least until he watched her stalk a black bear and feast on it like she was born to do so.

When she dropped the remains of the beast and looked up at him, chest heaving, eyes hooded and blood dripping down the side of her mouth, he thought his whole body would explode with need. It would take some time to get used to the distortion of her face as she drank; the fangs, the veins that stood out in bold relief under her skin, stemming around her eyes and cheeks. It was sexy, feral and primitive. It was driving him insane.

She backed up further into the shadows with a come-hither look.

"I want you," he said in a harsh whisper, flexing his hands, waiting impatiently for permission.

"Come get me."

He needed no further encouragement. Within a second, he had her pressed up against a tree, his mouth at her neck, kissing her greedily. His hands found their way to her shirt, ripping it open. Buttons flew in all directions. She pressed up against him, a mewling sound coming from deep within her throat, urging him on.

"Don't hold back," she said with a moan and a writhe of her hips.

A switch in him flipped. He always had to be so careful before. Not now. Not anymore. Oh God, he never felt anything as good as her fangs scraping against his neck and her tongue darting out to lick at him. When had his shirt come off?

She gave all of herself, not holding back, driving him on and he gave as good as he got. On the forest floor, on a bed of leaves and rocks, he made her his in a whole new way. His body urgent with desire to claim as he had never claimed before, he found his teeth at her neck once more, her scent stronger and more intense with her arousal.

"Yes," she screamed underneath him.

_Do it. Do it._

Rational thought escaped him. He pulled back his lips, baring his teeth and sunk them deep into the flesh of her neck as they both hit the pinnacle of their mating. She screamed loud, more with pleasure than pain. Her blood, the sweetest ambrosia, tasted amazing, like it was created for him and him alone. His own special brand of heroin. He had drunk from her before. Back then it was tainted with James' venom and morphine but this, this was pure, unadulterated Bella.

Bella! His eyes snapped open even as his body still bucked. Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice was yelling, demanding him to stop, that he would drain her dry if he didn't. Bella's hand cupped the back of his head, tugging at his hair, urging him to take more.

Just a little a more. A few more drops.

"No!" He ripped his mouth away from her; panting with the effort it cost him .

"What's wrong?" Bella stared up at him with satisfaction heavy eyes tinged with confusion.

"Why didn't you stop me?" With the pad of his thumb, he wiped at the corners of lips, thoroughly disgusted with himself, with his weakness. "I could have killed you."

Bella fought hard to keep herself from smiling. Poor Edward. She thought with their recent lovemaking that he had already adjusted to the fact that she was a vampire, as immortal as he was. He hadn't been careful. He hadn't treated her like a delicate piece of crystal that might break. It felt normal. He must have hit his limit though when he began to suck her blood.

It had made everything that much more intense, magnified, to know, to be aware that she was able to give him that pleasure. To have her blood within him sealed their intimacy and union more than ever before.

"You can't kill me that way. Not anymore."

"We don't know that! I won't take chances with your life. I can't."

"Fine." She stood up, brushed herself off and began searching for her clothes. "By all means, let's go talk to Carlisle then." She snatched up the mangled remnants of what was left of her outfit with huff, trying unsuccessfully to retrieve some semblance of decently dressed. Feeling failure and anger bloom, she sunk back down on her knees, pulling the edges her tattered blouse together and clutching them close to her chest.

"Bella?" Edward knelt down in front of her and tipped her chin up with his forefinger. "What's wrong?"

She felt trapped by his gaze and tempted to lie. How could she explain it when she didn't quite understand it herself? Emotions flooded her, making her skin itch and her stomach clench with anxiety. One second she was aroused, the next disproportionately angry and the next she was sinking into the depths of despair. It was like having PMS on steroids.

"I'm not normal. I wasn't normal as a human and I'm definitely not normal now."

"Oh, Bella," he sighed with a shake of head and a small smile. "You talk as if that is such a bad thing."

"Isn't it?" She gave a frustrated growl and kicked at the dirt, creating swells of dust clouds around them. "I blush, I bleed, I sparkle…well, sort of." She tried to swallow back a manic laugh that bubbled to her throat. Brushing a stray tear from her eye, she showed it to Edward "Apparently, I cry too. I only wanted to fit in. I thought once I was a vampire, I'd feel a sense of belonging, a sense of home that I never really had. I couldn't even do that right. I don't belong anywhere."

Taking her by both shoulders, forcing her to face him, Edward spoke to her with absolute conviction, "You belong with me. Always."

* * *

><p>Once they arrived back at the house, Bella walked past everyone with as much dignity as she could muster given her state of dress…or undress as the case may be. Ignoring the quizzical scrutiny, she walked up the stairs and back into the safety of Edward's room. Everything was exactly the same, everything but her. Well, her and the now boarded up window she had taken a flying leap through earlier. She shook her head, biting her lip.<p>

After rummaging through Edward's dresser drawer, she shed what was left of her clothes and yanked one of Edward's t-shirts over her head and pulled on a pair of drawstring shorts to wear. All she wanted to do was lie down and not think; not think about how weird she felt, the changes in her body, what they meant, not think about Charlie who was sure to be back from his fishing trip by now and wondering why he hadn't heard from her.

Would he notice the changes? She snorted. Of course, he would. Charlie may only be a small town cop but he was still a cop and one who was very perceptive. Then again…

Bella pushed herself off the bed and inched up to the full length mirror behind the door. She faced it with her eyes clenched shut, afraid to open them, afraid of what she would see. This would be the first time she saw herself as a vampire. Would she still look the same and just a little enhanced? Or would there be any change at all? Wouldn't be ironic if all these differences she felt were only on the inside and on the outside, she was still plain, old, Bella?

She forced her eyes open and stared at the image in front her. The feeling was so surreal that she reached out to touch the mirror just to make sure the image was hers. The changes were subtle. Her hair seemed thick, fuller with more red highlights. Eyes that she always considered mud brown seemed more vibrant, the color lighter with flecks of green and gold.

Edward had said they were the same color, she mused as she brought her finger to her eye and leaned in closer to the mirror, peering at herself more intently. Was it possible? Were her eyes always this color, this blending of earth tones, but her vision was just too human to see it? He often said that she didn't see herself very clearly. Maybe he had been right all along. He wasn't speaking metaphorically. He was being literal.

Steady footsteps climbing the stairs alerted her that someone was coming. They stopped right outside the closed door and there was a moment before she heard a soft rapping of knuckles against wood.

"Bella, may I come in?"

Carlisle. Of course. She sighed, knowing her reprieve was over. It was time to face reality once again.

"Sure," she said, stepping away from the mirror and sitting cross-legged on the bed. Feigning nonchalance wasn't her forte but she was going to give it the old college try.

Carlisle walked in empty handed, no medical bag, no machines, just him. Maybe becoming a guinea pig or a science project wasn't on the agenda after all. She had enough of being poked, prodded and dissected to last a lifetime.

_Stop feeling sorry for yourself. No one likes a complainer. I should be grateful. I'm alive, well, not in the dictionary meaning of the term but still. _

How could she be angry that she was immortal, able to spend lifetimes with her loved ones? This was what she always wanted, since knowing what Edward and his family were. Did it matter that it wasn't exactly in the form she expected or happened a little sooner than she wanted?

"You have every right to be upset."

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. Having her thoughts so easily read by everyone was disconcerting. To be so open, to lack the privacy, it bothered her.

"I know I have to get used to that but I can't bring myself to make me want to. I wish I knew why this was happening and how I could control it."

"I have some theories about that," he said, sitting down next to her, "if you're open to hearing them, of course."

"I would…but first, I want to say I'm sorry about the window." She spared a glance toward the wooden boards obstructing the view of the forest. "I-"

"There's no need to apologize. You were upset and felt cornered and then Rosalie…" He shook his head. "We should be apologizing to you. I can't imagine any of that was easy to wake up to."

"No," she said under her breath then forced a smile. "So about these theories of yours…"

Bella listened intently as he spoke, surprised at how much he was able to learn in such a small amount of time and how much was still yet to understand. She was a little miffed to find out that he invited another vampire named Eleazar to visit but in the end she figured if this Eleazar character could shed more light on what she was, she couldn't turn down the offer for his help.

"So this friend of yours, Eleazar, thinks the reason you can hear me is because I let you?"

"In a fashion. It was when I did the CAT and MRI of your brain that I saw it, an actual border separating your hippocampus into two parts. At first, if you remember we had thought that attributed to the memories from your past life held in check, to keep them from bleeding into the present until Bonnie did the spell. Now, I wonder, if it is more than that, that even as a human you had the ability to shield yourself for protection. Although many people try to hide behind a metaphorical shield to appear less emotionally vulnerable, yours is actually physical. It explains why Edward can't read your thoughts and why Jane had no effect on you. It's extraordinary really."

"I don't understand. Shouldn't that 'shield' be stronger, more defined now?"

"As a hybrid, it appears you've inherited many of the qualities of a Nocturne, one of them being intensified emotions. It makes this shield unstable."

"Intensified emotions and unstable. That's an understatement," she mumbled, pondering that a bit. "Is that why I feel so PMS'y?"

Carlisle laughed, trying to cover it up with a cough into his hand but his eyes still sparkled with mirth. "That is certainly one way put it. But seriously, I'd like to do some tests to see just what attributes of the two different vampire breeds you've acquired and which ones you didn't."

"Of course, you would. That's going to include needle and my blood isn't"

"I'm afraid so. As natural as the instinct may be, until I do a full examination, I've asked Edward to refrain from drinking your blood. That was very dangerous, Bella." He gave her an admonishing look. "For both you and him."

* * *

><p>"Is Bella alright, Edward?" Esme asked, her eyes full with concern as she watched her oldest son enter in the house behind Bella, his shoulders slumped.<p>

He turned to look at her, his brows drawing together in confusion at the question. He didn't know how to answer. He hoped she was. But then again, she was eerily quiet on the run home and it bothered him more than he was willing to say.

"She's fine. It's just going to take her a bit to get used to."

"Us as well," Jasper said. "Hybrids are pretty rare."

"Rare." Edward pivoted on his heel to face Rosalie. "But not unheard of. Not according to what you discovered."

"Thanks to yours truly," Rebekah said with a smug smile.

Rose gave a stiff nod of recognition with a curl of distaste on her lips. "She suggested we go to Arizona to find answers."

"Because Brutus and Blondie wouldn't stick out like glitter glue on white paper in the sunny desert of all places." Damon rolled his eyes and snorted.

"It worked though didn't it, you ass."

"Who are you calling-"

"Stop!" Edward shouted issuing a glare to them both. "Rose, please continue."

"As I was saying…"

**_Sedona, AZ_**

_Cloaked by night, Rose and Emmett followed Rebekah through the dirt trails, shouldering past the tourists that seemed to cluster around the various vortex attractions even well after the sun went down. So they waited, needing to conduct the rest of their journey without attention._

_Rebekah let out a snort and shook her head as they perused through a hokey gift shop biding their time._

_"What's your problem, now?" Rose asked with impatience and a sideways glare as she rifled through the various souvenir brochures. Traveling with the Original vampire was trying her last nerve. Never had she met anyone so high maintenance, so prone to petulant tantrums. There were several times she wanted to kick the girl in the face but she stopped herself, reminding herself this was for Bella, who God knew what was happening to her and this little twit may actually help. _

_ "This…this is a mockery. A disgrace. This place was sacred at one time, now it's nothing more than a tourist attraction. Case and point," she said handing a booklet over to her with the word's "Witch's Mountain" on it._

_"What do you care? I thought witches were the mortal enemy of your type of vampire."_

_"Yes, they are," Rebecca said with a sad smile. "Want to know the most twisted irony of all? If it weren't for a witch, our whole species wouldn't exist."_

_"Are you saying a witch created the nocturnals?" Emmett asked her, curious._

_"It was my mother, actually. She was a very powerful witch." Her voice was soft as she stared up at the converted church. She sighed and motioned them to walk with her towards the rear entrance. "When we lost my brother, Henrik, she was devastated. It was through that devastation that she used witchcraft to make us immortal, to protect us. She loved us so much she turned us into vampires, the first of our kind, The Originals. A family that was supposed to stay together, fight for each other. It was us against the world." She let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "You saw first-hand how well that turned out."_

_Rose flinched. She didn't want to care. She didn't' want to feel any sympathy but she couldn't imagine how it must've felt to be threatened and betrayed, locked up for nearly a century in a tomb by the hands of your own flesh and blood._

_"That's fucked up." _

_"Yes, Emmett. I couldn't agree with you more. C'mon let's get out of here. I want to be done with this."_

_Sneaking through red rock crevices, they began to climb a formation now known as Witch Mountain. When they arrived at the very peak, Rebekah revealed a camouflaged passageway, obscured by jagged edged rock. It was a large red stone, too heavy for human hands to lift but not for a vampire._

_Dank air mixed with some unnameable odor wafted up from the bowels of the dark opening. They walked down age warped stone steps, deeper and deeper into the mountain and finally wove through an intricate network of underground tunnels. Scorpions, lizards and red ants scattered in their wake and moisture seeped from the tunnel ceilings and walls. _

_"Here we are." Rebekah stopped in front of a wooden door, suspiciously without rot and water damage and decorated with elaborate ancient carvings. "Hopefully, my old friend will have answers. Be forewarned though, he's a bit quirky."_

_"I'd be a bit quirky too if I had to live down here," Rose said, pulling cobwebs from her hair, her lips pursed in disgust._

_"Be careful who you call quirky, darling." The door opened swiftly revealing a tall, refined looking man with pale, ageless skin and a wealth of bronze hair. "Come in, come in. I've been expecting you," he said as he ushered them inside._

_"It's been a long time," Rebekah greeted him with an air kiss over his gaunt cheek before walking inside._

_"Bekah, you look enchanting as always."_

_Rose was hesitant to venture inside the cavernous underground chamber. The man or whatever he was, with his hair and golden eyes could have passed for Edward's long lost brother. She hovered with Emmett at the threshold, not liking this recent turn of events. _

_"Oh for heaven's sake," The man said with a roll of his eyes. "It's perfectly safe. I don't bite. Much."_

_"Sage is The Guardian."_

_ "Guardian of who exactly?" Emmett asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and his fists clenched ready to fight._

_"Guardian of what, would be more appropriate, Emmett McCarthy Cullen." He raised his lips into a grin. "Follow me. I'll show you."_

"Wait a second, time out," Damon interrupted. "Did you say Sage? Tall, bronze and freaky? Guardian of the Gate? Of the Treasures of the Kitsune? That Sage?"

"You know him?" Emmett asked.

"You could say that," Damon mumbled under his breath.

"He sends his regards, by the way."

"Did he now? Did he also happen to mention a bottle of wine he owes me?"

"No, now can I please continue with my story?"

"Sure, Blondie. You have our undivided attention."

_Sage turned his back on the three of them and walked soundlessly down another hall. Rebekah, Rose and Emmett followed closely behind until they stopped abruptly in front of a steel vault, the thick door open wide. His spindly hands motioned to stacks and stacks of ancient tomes behind him._

_"What on earth?" Rose stepped into the room, her eyes wide as she stared at the haphazard stacks that were littered throughout the small space that smelled heavily of patchouli incense._

_ "Ancient Codices. Each one documenting the origins and histories of supernatural creatures through to present time. He gestured to a thick book, laid out on a pedestal and already opened. "I believe that is the one you seek."_

"Wait," Edward interrupted Rosalie's tale. "You're telling me that there are books detailing every supernatural creature in existence and in one location?"

"Yes," Rose huffed impatiently. "Do you want me to get to the point or not?"

"Please."

"Okay. So, there was one known hybrid in existence, ever." Rose looked meaningfully around the room until her eyes locked on Edward's. She sucked in a sharp breath and exposed the thoughts she kept hidden from him. "Her name was Didyme."

* * *

><p>AN - So, good news. I have once again been nominated for several categories in The Burning Diamond Awards. It is an honor to be recognized, especially along with some really great authors. Voting ends on 1/15/14 and if you feel I'm deserving of the nod, then please cast your vote (and check out the other stories nominated too). The voting link is on my profile. Oh, and please review here, if you are so inclined. Thanks!


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